Box Score
HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry scored a season-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures and Southeastern Louisiana rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to defeat Central Arkansas, 72-68, in a Southland Conference game on Saturday at the University Center.
Roosevelt Johnson scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half while grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds to notch his third double-double of the season and 13th career for Southeastern (3-9, 1-1 SLC), which used a 16-2 run in the second half and held UCA (5-7, 0-2 SLC) without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes.
Jeffery Ricard added 13 points for the Lions while
Dre Evans chipped in with 11.
Both teams got off to a torrid start with UCA shooting 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the floor, including 7-for-10 from behind the 3-point line to take a 41-33 lead at halftime. The Bears used a 9-0 run in the first half to erase a 28-24 deficit as Robert Crawford scored five points in the span with a 3-pointer and a fast break dunk.
UCA opened the second half with buckets by Jordan Harks and Jarvis Garner and eventually built its biggest lead of the game – 49-35 – on a layup by Harks with 17:21 remaining in the game.
After a timeout, Southeastern chipped into the lead as Johnson scored four straight points for the Lions before UCA's Anthony Borden answered with a jumper to give the Bears a 51-39 lead at the 14:56 mark.
Southeastern began its run with a jumper by Ricard at the 13:28 mark before a jumper by Evans and a 3-pointer and dunk by Fortenberry got the Lions to within 51-48 with 10:54 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Fortenberry, who finished 8-for-16 from the floor and 5-for-10 from behind the arc, gave Southeastern a 55-53 lead with 8:01 remaining before a layup by Ricard with 7:08 left snapped a 55-55 deadlock to give the Lions the lead for good.
The Bears, who went 9-for-29 (31.0 percent) from the floor in the second half, got as close as 70-68 on a jumper by Harks with 48 seconds remaining, but Southeastern iced the game as Ricard and Evans each made free throws down the stretch to remain unbeaten at home in seven meetings against its league rival.
Harks led UCA with 17 points while Crawford added 15. Garner scored 14 points, going 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point line, and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bears.
Southeastern will return to action on Monday when it travels to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar (2-12, 0-2 SLC) in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Montagne Center. The game, which will follow the Southeastern-Lamar women's game, can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
