Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team clinched the eighth, and final, seed in the 2014 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament with a 71-62 conference win Saturday against Lamar at the Montagne Center.

Southeastern (12-17, 7-11 Southland) never trailed in the game, building an early 7-0 lead.

Four Lions scored in double figures, including Devonte Upson who picked up his second double-double of the season. The Amarillo, Texas, native tied a career high with 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

JaMichael Hawkins scored 15 points, while Dre Evans added 11 and Onochie Ochie chipped in another 10 points for Southeastern. The Lions converted 22-of-47 shots (46.8 percent) in the contest.

Amos Wilson led Lamar in scoring, pouring in a game-high 19 points and grabbing 10 boards for a double-double. Octavius Green (11) and Nimrod Hilliard (10) also scored in double figures for Lamar (4-26, 3-15 Southland). The Cardinals converted 19-of-58 shots (32.8 percent) in the game.

Southeastern will face the No. 5 seed, Nicholls State (13-14, 10-8 Southland), Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the 2014 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. It will be the second-consecutive season the Lions make the trip to Merrell Center.

The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone app. Fans can also keep up with the game with live statistics and streaming video provided by the Southland Conference. Links for audio, video and stats are available on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

All-session tickets for the tournament are on sale through the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office located in the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics. Reserved all-tournament booklets and general admission all-tournament booklets are available by calling (985) 549-LION.

The men's tournament gets underway Wednesday, March 12 with first-round games at 5 and 7:30 p.m., CT. Men's second-round games will be played Thursday at 5 and 7:30 p.m. and the semifinal games will be played Friday at 5 and 7:30 p.m. The men's championship game will be played Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2.

The winners of the conference men's tournament will earn the Southland Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournaments. The NCAA Men's Final Four will be held April 5 and 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.


SOUTHEASTERN LA. (12-17, 7-11 SLC)
Upson, Devonte 5-7 6-6 16; Hawkins, JaMichael 5-11 3-4 15; Evans, Dre 3-7 5-5 11; Ochie, Onochie 4-5 1-2 10; Ricard, Jeffery 1-7 6-6 8; Benton, Antonnio 2-7 2-3 6; Chiera, Julian 1-1 1-2 3; Filmore, Joshua 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 22-47 24-29 71.

LAMAR (4-26, 3-15 SLC)
Wilson, Amos 6-12 7-8 19; Green, Octavius 3-3 3-4 11; Hilliard, Nimrod 3-12 4-6 10; Owens, Marcus 3-6 1-2 9; Ross, Donovan 2-6 2-2 6; Holliday, Anthony 2-5 1-2 5; Hancock, Matt 0-5 2-3 2; Mitchell, Rhon 0-2 0-0 0; Mattingly, Preston 0-5 0-0 0; Minton, Donnell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 20-27 62.

Southeastern La.........   27   44  -   71
Lamar............................   24   38  -   62

3-point goals--Southeastern La. 3-8 (Hawkins, JaMichael 2-5; Ochie, Onochie 1-1; Ricard, Jeffery 0-1; Evans, Dre 0-1), Lamar 4-21 (Owens, Marcus 2-4; Green, Octavius 2-2; Holliday, Anthony 0-2; Hancock, Matt 0-5; Mitchell, Rhon 0-1; Mattingly, Preston 0-2; Minton, Donnell 0-2; Hilliard, Nimrod 0-3). Fouled out--Southeastern La.-None, Lamar-None. Rebounds—Southeastern La. 30 (Upson, Devonte 10), Lamar 39 (Wilson, Amos 10). Assists--Southeastern La. 11 (Benton, Antonnio 4), Lamar 12 (Hilliard, Nimrod 7). Total fouls--Southeastern La. 19, Lamar 20. Technical fouls--Southeastern La.-None, Lamar-None. A-2002