Box Score


HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry scored eight of his game-high 23 points in a decisive 11-2 run over the final 3:10 and Southeastern Louisiana pulled away to take a 79-68 victory over McNeese State in a Southland Conference game Thursday at the University Center.

Southeastern (11-17, 9-8 SLC), which was playing at home for the first time since a 54-50 victory over league-leader Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 16, snapped a four-game losing streak and clinched a first-round bye in the 2013 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament by virtue of Sam Houston State's 57-42 loss at SFA.

Roosevelt Johnson added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Lions, becoming the 10th player in school history to record 600 career rebounds, while Dre Evans overcame an 0-for-7 performance at SHSU to score 13 points on 5 of 9 aim.

McNeese State (12-16, 6-11 SLC), which was looking for a season-sweep and possible first-round bye, cut Southeastern's lead to 68-66 when Kevin Hardy converted a three-point play with 4:14 remaining in the game. In a game that saw seven ties and 14 lead changes, McNeese State missed an opportunity on its next possession to reclaim the lead when Dontae Cannon's layup attempt fell short and the Lions pulled away from there.

Fortenberry, who increased his career scoring total to 1,294 points and moving past Amir Abdur-Rahim (1,282 points from 2001-04) for seventh place on the school's all-time list, began Southeastern's final run with a three-point play to put the Lions ahead, 71-66, with 3:10 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Dre Evans and a bucket by Fortenberry gave Southeastern a 76-66 lead with 1:31 left before the senior made three free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Both teams traded leads early in the game before a 3-pointer by Hardy and a basket by Craig McFerrin gave McNeese State a 15-10 lead with 11:48 remaining in the first half. After both teams traded baskets, Southeastern scored on back-to-back 3-pointers by Fortenberry and Onochie Ochie to take an 18-17 lead at the 10:00 mark.

Southeastern led 34-28 on a jumper by Antonnio Benton with 1:59 remaining in the half before McNeese State closed out the half with a 5-0 run as Cannon buried a 3-pointer and McFerrin tipped in his own miss to get the Cowboys to within 34-33 at the half.

In the second half, Southeastern built a six-point lead three times, the last coming when a pair of free throws by Johnson gave the Lions a 52-46 advantage with 14:17 remaining. But, McNeese State went on a 7-0 run that was capped by a layup by Adrian Fields with 11:22 left that put the Cowboys ahead 53-52.

McFerrin posted a double-double for McNeese State scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Hardy added 14 points and seven assists for the Cowboys while Cannon chipped in with 12 points.

Southeastern will close out the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Lamar in a 4 p.m. contest. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net. Prior to the game, Southeastern will honor its senior class – Fortenberry, Johnson, Todd Nelson and Jan Petrovcic.

Tickets can be purchased from the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466, 1-866-LION-TIX or on-line at www.LionSports.net.