Box Score
HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry scored a game-high 22 points and Southeastern Louisiana University shot a sizzling 65 percent in the second half to overcome an eight-point deficit and hold off Sam Houston State, 69-65, in a Southland Conference game Thursday at the University Center.
Roosevelt Johnson scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including a pair of free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining that helped Southeastern (6-11, 4-3 SLC) snap a two-game losing streak while earning its first win at home over SHSU (11-8, 4-3 SLC) since a 71-62 victory in the semifinals of the 2005 Southland Conference Tournament.
SHSU scored the game's first seven points and led 17-9 after James Thomas tipped in a Darius Gatson miss with 9:22 remaining in the half. Southeastern cut into the lead as
Onochie Ochie drained a 3-pointer before Fortenberry, who missed his first five attempts from the floor, buried a 3-pointer on the Lions' next possession to cut the SHSU lead to 17-15 with 5:22 remaining.
Southeastern managed to take a 25-23 lead when
Dre Evans sank a jumper with 1:45 remaining before SHSU closed out the half on a 7-2 run, which began on a 3-pointer by Will Bond and two free throws each by Thomas and Paul Baxter.
After trailing, 30-27, at intermission, Southeastern shot 13-for-20 (65 percent) in the second half and outscored SHSU, 42-35. A bucket by Fortenberry, who finished 5-for-12 from the floor, gave Southeastern a 42-40 lead it would not relinquish and the Lions would build their biggest lead of the night – 51-44 – when
Jeremy Campbell sank an off-balance jumper in the lane with 10:07 remaining.
SHSU closed to within 66-64 when Baxter sank a jumper in the lane with 30 seconds remaining before
Todd Nelson sank one of two free throws on Southeastern's ensuing possession. Baxter missed a 3-pointer on the following possession for SHSU, but Gatson grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 4.9 seconds remaining.
After making the first attempt that cut the Southeastern lead to 67-65, Gatson missed the second before being called for a lane violation on the third.
Johnson, who was limited to six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, was fouled on the immediate inbounds play and sank both attempts to seal the win for Southeastern. The 6-foot-6 senior grabbed all of his game-high seven rebounds in the second half as Southeastern scored 20 points off 17 SHSU turnovers.
Evans scored 12 points for Southeastern, which finished 21-for-43 (48.8 percent) from the floor and 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
DeMarcus Gatlin paced SHSU with 15 points while Baxter scored 11. The Bearkats finished 19-for-50 (38.0 percent) from the floor and held a 37-27 advantage on the glass. Thomas pulled down a team-high five rebounds for SHSU.
Southeastern will return to action on Saturday when it plays host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a 4 p.m. contest. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), on the internet at www.LionSports.net, and the KSLU and TuneIn Radio iPhone apps.
Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466, 1-866-LION-TIX or online at www.LionSports.net. Tickets can also be purchased on Saturday from the University Center Box Office (Gate 3) beginning at 1 p.m.
