HAMMOND, La. – Five Lions scored in double digits Thursday as the Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball squad defeated Loyola-New Orleans, 97-81, in an exhibition game at the University Center.

Southeastern scored the first nine points of the game and never trailed. The Lions expanded the lead to as much as 15 in the first half. A dunk by senior forward DeVonte Upson sent the crowd into a frenzy, making it 29-14, with 8:59 remaining until halftime.

The Wolfpack closed within a pair late in the half, 37-35, as Jalen Gray hit a pair of free throws with 1:39 left on the clock.

In the second half, the Lions pushed the lead back into double digits on a three pointer from Joshua Filmore, making 61-49 with 13:21 remaining. Loyola would again crawl back within striking distance, 82-76, as late as 3:18 to play, but Southeastern quickly put the game away.

Hammond native Zay Jackson led all players with 28 points, shooting 11-of-15 from the floor. Joshua Filmore (20), Upson (15), Onochie Ochie (13) and Andrew Guillory (10) joined Jackson with double-digit points. Guillory led the Lions with nine rebounds and Upson contributed eight.

Southeastern converted 34-of-58 shots from the floor (58.6 percent) and was 9-of-20 (45 percent) from three-point range in the game.

Robert Lovaglio scored 22 points to lead Loyola. McCall Tomeny (19) and Jalen Gray (18) also scored in double digits for the Wolfpack, while four different players hauled in five rebounds each.

Southeastern opens the 2014-15 regular season, Nov. 14, at Oklahoma State. The Lions play 12 of their 14 non-conference games on the road, returning home to host Tennesee Tech, Nov. 26, as part of the Green Wave Classic.


SOUTHEASTERN LA. 97, LOYOLA (NEW ORLEANS) 81
LOYOLA (NEW ORLEANS) (1-0)
Lovaglio, Robert 8-11 3-3 22; Tomeny, McCall 8-18 0-1 19; Gray, Jalen 7-12 2-2 18; Fields, Ben 3-5 0-2 6; Simmons, Kyle 2-4 0-0 5; Pierre, Nate 2-5 0-0 4; Kuhl, Daniel 1-5 2-2 4; Parker, Nick 1-6 0-0 3; Pinera, Wesley 0-0 0-0 0; White, Robert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-66 7-10 81.

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (0-0)
Jackson, Zay 11-15 4-7 28; Filmore, Joshua 5-11 7-9 20; Upson, DeVonte 5-6 5-5 15; Ochie, Onochie 6-9 0-0 13; Guillory, Andrew 3-4 3-4 10; Jenkins, Cedric 3-11 0-2 7; Rumph, Zach 1-1 1-2 4; Braclay, Bret 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-58 20-29 97.

Loyola (New Orleans)....... 35 46 - 81
Southeastern La............... 41 56 - 97

3-point goals--Loyola (New Orleans) 10-26 (Tomeny, McCall 3-7; Lovaglio, Robert 3-3; Gray, Jalen 2-3; Parker, Nick 1-4; Simmons, Kyle 1-3; Kuhl, Daniel 0-3; Pierre, Nate 0-2; Fields, Ben 0-1), Southeastern La. 9-20 (Filmore, Joshua 3-8; Jackson, Zay 2-3; Ochie, Onochie 1-1; Guillory, Andrew 1-1; Jenkins, Cedric 1-5; Rumph, Zach 1-1; Braclay, Bret 0-1). Fouled out--Loyola (New Orleans)-None, Southeastern La.-None. Rebounds--Loyola (New Orleans) 30 (Lovaglio, Robert 5; Fields, Ben 5; Tomeny, McCall 5; Gray, Jalen 5), Southeastern La. 35 (Guillory, Andrew 9). Assists--Loyola (New Orleans) 9 (Gray, Jalen 4), Southeastern La. 16 (Jackson, Zay 4; Filmore, Joshua 4). Total fouls--Loyola (New Orleans) 26, Southeastern La. 16. Technical fouls--Loyola (New Orleans)-None, Southeastern La.-None.