HAMMOND, La. – Zay Jackson poured in 24 points Saturday as Southeastern Louisiana rallied in the second half for a 55-54 Southland Conference win over Abilene Christian at the University Center.

Southeastern (9-17, 6-7 Southland) swept the season series from ACU (9-17, 3-10) after having defeated the Wildcats earlier this season in Abilene. ACU has now lost 10-straight games since starting off conference play with a three-game winning streak.

The Lions trailed, 33-28, at the half, but a 10-0 run that carried over into the second half temporarily put Southeastern up by one at the 18:43 mark.

Building up a five-point lead, the Lions would watch ACU rally back into the lead. Parker Wentz hit a 3-pointer with 4:16 to play, putting the Wildcats up, 51-46.

Southeastern tied it up with 2:47 remaining on a Jimmie Duplessis layup and took the lead for good 24 seconds later on a Cedric Jenkins layup.

ACU led by as much as nine in the game when Harrison Hawkins sank a 3-pointer with 0:57 remaining until halftime.

Duplessis, Jenkins and DeVonte Upson chipped in eight points each for Southeastern. Jackson, a junior from Hammond, hauled in a team-high six rebounds.

The Lions shot 52.5 percent from the floor (21-of-40), including 22.2 percent from three-point range (2-of-9). Southeastern converted 11-of-19 from the free throw line (57.9 percent).

Wentz led the Wildcats with 22 points. Austin Cooke added 10 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

ACU shot 43.9 percent from the floor (18-of-41), including 40 percent from three-point range (6-of-15). The Wildcats converted 12-of-16 from the free throw line (75 percent) and out-rebounded the Lions, 27-23.

Southeastern returns to action at 7 p.m. Monday in the University Center against the University of New Orleans (7-15, 3-10 Southland). UNO dropped a home game to Northwestern State, 87-84, Saturday at the Lakefront Arena.

The game can be heard in the Hammond, Louisiana, area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone apps. Live statistics will be provided, as will streaming video on LionVision (subscription required). Links for audio, video, stats, tickets and promotional info are available on the basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

Advanced tickets for individual basketball games can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466.

Located in Room 107 of the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics, the ticket office is open 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays. The University Center box office opens one hour prior to tipoff.

Courtside Top Cat seats are $25 for an individual game. General admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children (age 3-12). Southeastern students will be admitted free with a valid university ID card.


ABILENE CHRISTIAN (9-17, 3-10 SLC)
Wentz, Parker 7-11 4-5 22; Cooke, Austin 3-6 3-3 10; Porter, Duran 3-4 2-2 8; Hawkins, Harrison 2-4 0-0 5; Williams, LaDarrien 1-10 2-4 4; Payne, Riley 1-3 0-0 2; Milosavljevic, Alexs 1-1 0-0 2; Green, Drake 0-0 1-2 1; Little, Jalen 0-1 0-0 0; Tripp, Isaiah 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 12-16 54.

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (9-17, 6-7 SLC)
Jackson, Zay 9-14 4-8 24; Upson, DeVonte 2-3 4-4 8; Duplessis, Jimmie 4-6 0-0 8; Jenkins, Cedric 4-12 0-2 8; Ochie, Onochie 2-4 0-1 4; Grieves, Daniel 0-0 3-4 3; Lobell, Justin 0-0 0-0 0; Barclay, Bret 0-0 0-0 0; Maggio, Dylon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-40 11-19 55.

Abilene Christian............. 33 21 - 54
Southeastern La.............. 28 27 - 55

3-point goals--Abilene Christian 6-15 (Wentz, Parker 4-7; Cooke, Austin 1-2; Hawkins, Harrison 1-2; Williams, LaDarrien 0-4), Southeastern La. 2-9 (Jackson, Zay 2-5; Duplessis, Jimmie 0-2; Jenkins, Cedric 0-2). Fouled out--Abilene Christian-None, Southeastern La.-Grieves, Daniel. Rebounds--Abilene Christian 27 (Cooke, Austin 13), Southeastern La. 23 (Jackson, Zay 6). Assists--Abilene Christian 9 (Tripp, Isaiah 2; Little, Jalen 2), Southeastern La. 7 (Jenkins, Cedric 3). Total fouls—Abilene Christian 21, Southeastern La. 17. Technical fouls--Abilene Christian-None, Southeastern La.-None. A-945