Box Score

Highlights
Post-Game Press Conference

KATY, Texas – Heading into its Southland Conference Tournament second round matchup against McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana University head coach Jim Yarbrough was looking for someone to not “step up” but “step in” to fill the void created by the loss of injured starter Roosevelt Johnson.

The eighth-year coach got that and more as Brandon Fortenberry scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures and Southeastern put on a blistering performance from the floor in earning an 85-65 victory over the Cowboys on Thursday at the Merrell Center.

The win by Southeastern (13-17), the No. 4 seed in the eight-team field, was its third straight and first in the league's postseason tournament since a 79-78 overtime decision against Texas State in 2010.

Southeastern advanced to face top-seeded Stephen F. Austin (26-3) in the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), on the internet at www.LionSports.net, and the KSLU iPhone and TuneIn Radio app. The game will also be televised on ESPN3.

Playing its first game without Johnson, the team's second-leading scorer and league's third-best rebounder, the Lions used a 14-1 run in the first half that turned an 8-8 contest into a 22-9 lead with 12:18 remaining in the first half. Jeffery Ricard, who scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, sank a pair of 3-pointers and added jumper for the Lions while Fortenberry and Antonnio Benton each drained a pair of free throws and Onochie Ochie capped the run with a tip-in.

Starting in place of Johnson, Ochie scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds as the sophomore went 6-for-8 from the floor with a 3-pointer. Dre Evans added 17 points for the Lions, who finished 29-for-52 (55.8 percent) from the floor and 9-for-18 from long range, while Roger Woods added 10.

Southeastern led by as many as 19 points in the first half and built a 53-36 lead at halftime after turning in its best first-half performance of the season. The Lions went 16-for-28 (57.1 percent) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from behind the 3-point line and 14-for-14 from the free throw line.

McNeese State (14-17), the No. 8 seed, got as close as 68-56 in the second half on a pair of free throws by Craig McFerrin, but Evans opened a 9-0 run for the Lions when his desperation 3-point attempt with the shot clock winding down bounced off the front of the rim three times before falling in for a 71-56 lead.

Fortenberry and Ochie each added layups before a bucket Evans gave Southeastern a 77-56 lead with 5:52 remaining.

DeSharick Guidry led McNeese State with 17 points while McFerrin added 15 and Dontae Cannon 10. The Cowboys finished 24-for-56 (42.9 percent) from the field and 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from behind the 3-point line.