HAMMOND, La. – Incarnate Word outlasted Southeastern Louisiana, 75-71, Saturday in a Southland Conference game at the University Center.

Southeastern (2-15, 0-4 Southland) battled hard, but came up short in the end as UIW (8-7, 3-1) defeated the Lions for the first time in series history.

"That's a tough one," coach Jay Ladner said. "We needed a win in the worst way. We fell a little bit short."

UIW jumped out to an early 10-5 lead heading into the game's first media timeout (15:58), with both teams missing just one shot each. Coming out of the timeout, Jontrell Walker sank back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Cardinals up by double digits.

Southeastern responded with a pair of 3-pointers of its own, by JaMichael Hawkins (14:07) and Zay Jackson (13:34), to pull back within two possessions, 16-11. After some back-and-forth action, the Lions rattled off seven points in-a-row to tie the game, 22-22, at the 9:40 mark on a layup by Jordan Capps.

The Cardinals scored 10 of the next 13 points, however, to jump back out in front, 32-25. Southeastern again responded, taking its first lead of the game, 40-37, on Joshua Filmore's 3-pointer from the far corner with 56 seconds to play in the half, part of a 12-0 run by the Lions.

Shawn Johnson sank a 3-pointer for UIW (0.08) to cut the Lions lead back to one heading into halftime, 41-40. Southeastern's 41 points were the second-most scored by the Lions in the first half this season.

Kyle Hittle, one of four Cardinals to score in double figures, stuck a layup with 18:46 to play in the second half, giving UIW the lead once again, 44-43.

"This team is learning, and learning quickly, but they need to understand you play every single possession," Ladner said. "We gave up a three at the end of the half. Starting the second half, we didn't score on the opening possession and then had a poor defensive effort in the next two possessions. They scored some easy baskets."

Walker's layup at the 8:50 mark put the Cardinals back up by a game-high 11 points, 62-51, but Southeastern brought the deficit back to single digits on Hawkins 3-pointer just 14 seconds later.

UIW again opened up a double-digit lead, 73-62, on a 3-point play by Mitchell Badillo at the 4:01 mark, but a 9-0 run by the Lions pulled Southeastern back within one possession entering the final minute of play.

That was as close as the Lions would get, dropping their ninth straight.

Jackson, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the final 7:28, led all players in scoring. Capps (13), Hawkins (12) and Marlain Veal (10) joined him in double figures. Capps and Jackson each grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Southeastern shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51) from the floor, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from 3-point range. The Lions converted 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Walker's 19 points led the Cardinals' offensive attack while Mitchell Badillo (15), Derail Green (12) and Hittle (12) also reached double digits in points. Hittle grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

UIW shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the floor, including 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range. The Cardinals converted 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the free throw line and out-rebounded Southeastern, 30-24.

The Lions return to their home court for Monday's 7 p.m. game against Lamar (9-7, 1-3 Southland), which is a Cane's Challenge contest. More information is available on the promotions page at www.LionSports.net.

Students and campus organizations can also earn points toward their new Lion Up Loyalty account at the game just by checking-in on the mobile app while in attendance.

Advanced tickets for home basketball games can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or through the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office, located in Room 107 of the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics.

Courtside Top Cat seats are $25 while general admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children (age 3-12). Southeastern students will be admitted free to home games with a valid university ID card.

Closed for the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, regular ticket office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays. For more information, contact the ticket office at (985) 549-5466 or 1-866-LION-TIX.

The Southeastern Sports Radio Network broadcast, with Lance Pittman on the call, can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net or via the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can also watch the game live on LionVision, Southeastern's subscription-based video stream, or follow live statistics. Links for audio, video, stats and tickets are available on both the front page and basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.


INCARNATE WORD (8-7, 3-1 SLC)
Walker, Jontrell 7-10 2-4 19; Badillo, Mitchell 6-8 1-1 15; Green, Derail 5-11 2-3 12; Hittle, Kyle 4-13 2-4 12; Socks, Simi 3-4 1-1 7; Johnson, Shawn 2-5 0-0 5; Burmeister, Sam 1-1 0-0 3; Singleton, Tyler 1-2 0-0 2. Totals
29-54 8-13 75.

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (2-15, 0-4 SLC)
Jackson, Zay 9-13 1-3 23; Capps, Jordan 5-9 3-6 13; Hawkins, JaMichael 5-9 0-0 12; Veal, Marlain 5-8 0-0 10; Greenwood, Moses 2-2 3-4 7; Filmore, Joshua 1-7 0-0 3; Nelson, Dominic 1-1 0-0 2; Cook, Dimi 0-2 1-2 1; Lobell, Justin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 8-15 71.

Incarnate Word............... 40 35 - 75
Southeastern La............. 41 30 - 71

3-point goals--Incarnate Word 9-16 (Walker, Jontrell 3-5; Hittle, Kyle 2-5; Badillo, Mitchell 2-2; Johnson, Shawn 1-2; Burmeister, Sam 1-1; Green, Derail 0-1), Southeastern La. 7-16 (Jackson, Zay 4-5; Hawkins, JaMichael 2-5; Filmore, Joshua 1-4; Cook, Dimi 0-1; Veal, Marlain 0-1). Fouled out--Incarnate Word-None, Southeastern La.-Veal, Marlain; Greenwood, Moses. Rebounds--Incarnate Word 30 (Hittle, Kyle 9), Southeastern La. 24 (Capps, Jordan 6; Jackson, Zay 6). Assists--Incarnate Word 13 (Badillo, Mitchell 5), Southeastern La. 15 (Jackson, Zay 7). Total fouls--Incarnate Word 16, Southeastern La. 19. Technical fouls--Incarnate Word-None, Southeastern La.-None. A-644