HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana held off Mississippi College, 76-69, Wednesday at the University Center, picking up a win in the home opener for the 10th-straight season.

"I want to give Mississippi College a lot of credit," head coach Jay Ladner said. "We certainly didn't take them lightly. They hung around. There were three or four times we had a chance to blow the game open, but we're not there yet. We don't have the chemistry. We don't execute all the time. We're going to have to do a better job."

The pesky Choctaws (1-1) refused to let Southeastern (1-2) expand its lead throughout the contest.

Jordan Capps gave the Lions a 20-10 lead at the 11:29 mark with a layup off an assist from Mike Hawkins. Mississippi College answered with a 3-pointer from Tristan Moore just 19 seconds later. Hawkins drained a 3-pointer on Southeastern's next possession to drive the lead back to 10, but the Choctaws again answered.

A pair of free throws from Daniel Grieves at the 5:43 mark put the Lions up, 29-19, but Mississippi College once again sank a 3-pointer.

At the half, Southeastern had built a 33-25 advantage.

The second half was a similar story, although the Lions were able to extend the lead as high as 13 points, 42-29, less than three minutes in.

Hawkins, a senior from Raymond, Mississippi, led four players in double digits for Southeastern, pouring in 13 points. Zay Jackson, a senior from Hammond, and Dimi Cook, a freshman from Gulfport, Mississippi, both scored 12 points. All of Jackson's points came in the second half. Keith Charleston, a junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed 11 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Southeastern shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from 3-point range. The Lions were 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) from the free throw line and out-rebounded Mississippi College, 33-29.

Tory Rice led all players with 16 points. Jonathan McGee (14) and Stacey Mack (11) also scored in double figures for the Choctaws. Rice grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Mississippi College shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the floor, including 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from 3-point range. The Choctaws were 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from the free throw line.

Southeastern now embarks on a week-long trip to compete in the Barclays Center Classic. The journey will take Southeastern to Nebraska, Cincinnati and finally West Point, New York, for a pair of games.


MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (1-1)
Tory Rice 6-8 4-6 16; Jonathan McGee 4-11 3-4 14; Stacey Mack 4-6 1-7 11; Otis Harvey 3-8 0-1 8; Tristan Moore 3-8 1-1 8; Johnny Rucker 2-5 2-2 7; Antonio Johnson 1-3 3-3 5; Christian Robbins 0-0 0-0 0; David Fisher 0-0 0-0 0; DeOndre Haynes 0-3 0-0 0; Byron McCall 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 23-52 14-26 69.

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (1-2)
Hawkins, Mike 4-6 2-2 13; Cook, Dimi 4-6 3-4 12; Jackson, Zay 4-12 4-4 12; Charleston, Keith 5-7 1-2 11; Filmore, Joshua 3-7 2-2 9; Capps, Jordan 3-4 2-7 8; Grieves, Daniel 2-4 2-2 6; Veal, Marlain 1-2 2-3 5; Nelson, Dominic 0-0 0-0 0; Greenwood, Mo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 18-26 76.

Mississippi College........... 25 44 - 69
Southeastern La................ 33 43 - 76

3-point goals--Mississippi College 9-21 (Jonathan McGee 3-7; Otis Harvey 2-7; Stacey Mack 2-2; Johnny Rucker 1-1; Tristan Moore 1-2; DeOndre Haynes 0-1; Antonio Johnson 0-1), Southeastern La. 6-18 (Hawkins, Mike 3-5; Filmore, Joshua 1-4; Cook, Dimi 1-2; Veal, Marlain 1-1; Grieves, Daniel 0-1; Jackson, Zay 0-5). Fouled out--Mississippi College-Tristan Moore, Southeastern La.-Cook, Dimi. Rebounds--Mississippi College 29 (Tory Rice 8), Southeastern La. 33 (Charleston, Keith 10). Assists--Mississippi College 14 (Tristan Moore 4), Southeastern La. 14 (Jackson, Zay 8). Total fouls--Mississippi College 22, Southeastern La. 26. Technical
fouls--Mississippi College-None, Southeastern La.-None. A-810

Home opener for Southeastern Louisiana
Game counts as exhibition for MC