STILLWATER, Okla. – The Jay Ladner era opened with a competitive first half for Southeastern Louisiana, but Oklahoma State pulled away after halftime for an 83-55 win in the 2014-15 season opener, Friday, at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys (1-0) took advantage of 21 SLU (0-1) turnovers, outscoring the Lions 29-5 off miscues.

Down by as much as nine points in the first half, the Lions narrowed the gap over the half's final minutes. A three-pointer by Zay Jackson, and Bret Barclay's layup, in the final minute leading up to halftime brought SLU within two points.

Trailing 35-33 at the half, the Lions could not keep pace with OSU down the stretch. The Cowboys quickly opened up a double-digit lead, in the second half, going up 48-38 on Le'Bryan Nash's dunk with 15:50 remaining.

Hammond native Zay Jackson led the Lions with 16 points, shooting 6-of-24 from the floor. DeVonte Upson turned in a double-double, adding 10 points and leading the team with 10 rebounds.

SLU shot 31.7 percent (19-of-60 overall) from the floor, including 6-of-28 from three-point range (21.4 percent). The Cowboys combined to shoot 28-of-63 from the floor (44.4 percent) and 41.4 percent from the beyond the arc (12-of-29).

Nash led OSU with a game-high 22 points. Phil Forte (17) and Leyton Hammonds (16) also scored in double digits. The Cowboy's Anthony Allen hauled in 12 rebounds to lead all players.

The Lions complete the season's opening weekend with a trip down the road to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the Sooners in the Lloyd Noble Center. SLU has faced Oklahoma once in the past, as part of the Sooner Invitational during the 1985-86 season.

Fans can listen to the game in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net or via the TuneIn Radio smartphone app. Live stats also will be available for the contest. Links to audio and stats are available on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Sunday's game at Oklahoma will also be televised by Sooner Sports TV and can be seen locally on Fox College Sports-Central and Fox Sports-Southwest+. (AT&T U-verse channel 648; Cox channels 79 and 1079, as well as 256 in Baton Rouge and 337 in New Orleans; DirecTV channels 646, 653 and 676; and DISH Network channels 420, 422, 437 and 5420).

Oklahoma, which went 23-10 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, is coming off a pair of exhibition wins. The Sooners defeated Washburn, 73-48, this past Friday and downed Southwest Oklahoma State, 78-37, Tuesday.

SLU plays 12 of its 14 non-conference games on the road, returning home to host Tennesee Tech, Nov. 26, as part of the Green Wave Classic.


OKLAHOMA STATE 83, SOUTHEASTERN LA. 55
SOUTHEASTERN LA. (0-1)
Jackson, Zay 6-24 1-2 16; Upson, DeVonte 4-7 2-3 10; Ochie, Onochie 2-4 4-4 8; Filmore, Joshua 2-7 2-4 8; Guillory, Andrew 2-6 2-2 6; Jenkins, Cedric 2-10 0-0 5; Barclay, Bret 1-2 0-0 2; Rumph, Zach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 11-15 55.

OKLAHOMA STATE (1-0)
Nash, Le'Bryan 6-15 10-10 22; Forte, Phil 6-13 0-0 17; Hammonds, Leyton 6-9 0-0 16; Allen, Anthony 4-4 0-2 8; Hickey, Anthony 2-5 0-0 4; Griffin, Tyree 0-0 4-4 4; Newberry, Jeff 1-5 1-2 4; Sager, Christien 1-2 0-0 3; Budke, Alex 1-2 0-0 3; Solomon, Mitchell 1-3 0-0 2; Shine, Tavarius 0-1 0-0 0; Carroll, Jeffrey 0-3 0-0 0; Stuen, Ford 0-0 0-0 0; Soucek, Marek 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 15-18 83.

Southeastern La............... 33 22 - 55
Oklahoma State................ 35 48 - 83

3-point goals--Southeastern La. 6-28 (Jackson, Zay 3-13; Filmore, Joshua 2-4; Jenkins, Cedric 1-7; Guillory, Andrew 0-2; Braclay, Bret 0-1; Ochie, Onochie 0-1), Oklahoma State 12-29 (Forte, Phil 5-7; Hammonds, Leyton 4-6; Newberry, Jeff 1-4; Budke, Alex 1-1; Sager, Christien 1-2; Shine, Tavarius 0-1; Carroll, Jeffrey 0-3; Soucek, Marek 0-1; Hickey, Anthony 0-2; Nash, Le'Bryan 0-2). Fouled out--Southeastern La.-Ochie, Onochie, Oklahoma State-None. Rebounds--Southeastern La. 40 (Upson, DeVonte 10), Oklahoma State 38 (Allen, Anthony 12). Assists--Southeastern La. 9 (Jackson, Zay 4), Oklahoma State 19 (Hickey, Anthony 7). Total fouls--Southeastern La. 16, Oklahoma State 14. Technical fouls--Southeastern La.-None, Oklahoma State-Nash, Le'Bryan. A-6125

Fouled Out: SLU-Ochie (2:58)