Box Score
HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry scored a team-high 21 points while
Roosevelt Johnson posted his 14th career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead Southeastern Louisiana to a 70-65 victory over Nicholls State in a Southland Conference game Saturday at the University Center.
Southeastern (5-9, 3-1 SLC), off to its best four-game start in league play since the 2004-05 season, won its third straight contest as it finished 22-for-50 (44.0 percent) from the floor. Nicholls State, which was looking for its second consecutive win in Hammond, dropped to 3-11 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Fortenberry, who moved past Robert Cousin and Ricky Woods into 13th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,081 points, finished 6-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the free throw line in reaching double-digits in his 10th straight game. The fifth-year senior capped a 9-1 run for Southeastern in the first half when his three-point play with 7:57 remaining gave the Lions a 25-14 lead.
Fortenberry gave Southeastern its biggest lead of the game – 41-28 – when he drained a 3-pointer with 16:48 remaining before Nicholls State closed the gap to 41-33 on a three-point play by Jeremy Smith and a basket by Fred Hunter.
Southeastern led 64-54 on a bucket by Fortenberry with 2:42 remaining before Nicholls State scored the next nine points heading into the final minute. Hunter, who recorded his sixth career double-double with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, converted on a three-point play to begin the rally before three straight buckets by Dantrell Thomas, including a layup with 1:02 left, cut Southeastern's lead to 64-63.
Antonnio Benton answered for Southeastern with a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 43.9 seconds left to give the Lions a 66-63 lead before Johnson and
Jeffery Ricard each sank a pair of free throws in the final 26 seconds to preserve the win.
Benton scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds for Southeastern while Ricard added eight points off the bench.
Dre Evans added seven points for the Lions while
Todd Nelson scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
Smith added 19 points for Nicholls State, which finished 24-for-54 (44.4 percent) from the floor and 1-for-11 from behind the 3-point line. Thomas scored all of his 14 points in the second half for the Colonels while Shane Rillieux added seven points and a game-high five assists.
Southeastern will return to action on Thursday when it travels to face Southland Conference rival Stephen F. Austin in an 8 p.m. at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
