Box Score HAMMOND – Playing in the final home game of his career,
Brandon Fortenberry scored a game-high 26 points to lead Southeastern Louisiana to an 86-72 victory over Lamar in the Southland Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday at the University Center.
Jeffery Ricard added 16 points while
Dre Evans added 10 points and a season-high six assists as Southeastern (12-17, 10-8 SLC) built a 19-point lead and reached the 10-win mark in conference play for the sixth time since moving to Division I in 1980-81.
Fortenberry, who increased his career scoring total to 1,320 points and passed former Lion Jerry Kelly for sixth place on the school's all-time scoring list, finished 7-for-13 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. The senior scored 15 points in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers, as Southeastern scored a season-high 51 points in the second half.
Southeastern built a 16-8 lead in the first half when
Todd Nelson sank a 3-pointer with 11:04 remaining before Lamar (3-28, 1-17 SLC) went on a 12-2 run to take a 20-18 lead. Donley Minor, who scored a team-high 18 points in his final game for the Cardinals, opened the run with a bucket before a jumper by Stan Brown cut the lead to 16-12.
Minor added a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a pair of Hondo Webb free throws that gave the Cardinals the lead before Southeastern took the lead for good when Evans connected on a 3-pointer with 7:31 remaining for a 21-20 lead that the Lions would not relinquish.
Southeastern closed out the first half with a 6-1 run as
Onochie Ochie sank a free throw, Fortenberry added a three-point play and Ochie added a bucket for a 35-28 lead at halftime.
The Lions pushed their lead to 49-34 with 14:25 remaining on a free throw by
Roger Woods and twice built their lead to 19 points – the last coming on a layup by senior
Jan Petrovcic with 7:23 left.
Lamar got as close as 75-68 on a three-point play by Brown before Fortenberry answered with a 3-pointer and the Lions made eight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Brown added 14 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in his final game for Lamar. Donnell Minton chipped in with 12 points for the Cardinals while Keilan Blanks had 11 and Webb 10. The Cardinals finished 22-for-52 (42.3 percent) from the floor while connecting on a season-high seven 3-pointers.
Southeastern, which will be the No. 4 seed in the 2013 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, will play the winner of the Nicholls State-McNeese State contest on Thursday at 5 p.m.
