HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana senior
Jordan Capps and sophomore
Moses Greenwood both recorded double-doubles as the Lions opened the 2016-17 season with an 85-39 victory over Millsaps College Friday night at the University Center.
Capps had 26 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field while pulling down 15 rebounds. Greenwood was 7-of-10 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line in scoring a career-high 22 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Sophomore
Marlain Veal was also in double figures with 14 points for the Lions (1-0).
The Lions won their eighth straight home game dating back to last season while snapping a five-game losing streak in season openers. Southeastern also moved to 14-0 all-time versus Millsaps with its 10
th-straight win in home openers.
Veal and juniors
Jabbar Singleton and
George Brock each had four assists. Southeastern shot 55.4 percent from the field while out-rebounding Millsaps 46-22.
"I thought our defensive effort and intensity was good again," Southeastern head coach
Jay Ladner said. "We did what we should do on the boards against a team of that size and skill set. We had a much better shot selection tonight. Jordan and Moses had outstanding games from the field. They did what they should do in there against the smaller players they were playing against. We're not where we need to be offensively but I thought we executed a little bit better. But I'm proud of us. It's the first time we've won an opener in six years and it gets us one step closer to our goal."
Millsaps (0-1) was led by Brennan Gager with nine points. Trent Markwith had seven points while Sam Kohnke had a team-high six rebounds. The Majors shot 31.4 percent from the field
Southeastern shot 54.2 percent and out-rebounded Millsaps 26-10 in taking a 45-21 halftime lead. Greenwood had 14 points while Capps added 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Southeastern never trailed after junior
Davon Hayes beat the shot clock for a 3 and Veal banked in a jumper to make it 5-0 at the 17:28 mark. After Kohnke hit a 3 to bring Millsaps to within 6-5, Veal found Capps inside to give the Lions an 8-5 lead at the first media timeout with 15:45 remaining.
Southeastern extended its lead to 16-7 with 9:40 remaining behind a putback by Capps and a baseline jumper by Greenwood. After Millsaps broke a 3:16 scoreless spell with a jumper by Logan Mancuso, Brock knocked down a 3 to make it 23-11 at the 8:42 mark. Veal then converted a three-point play for a 26-13 lead with 7:59 left in the half.
The Lions continued to pull away as freshman
Chris Mejia drained a 3 to make it 35-17 with 3:45 left. After Kohnke answered with a 3, Greenwood scored off a putback and Capps hit a short jumper. Capps then slammed in a pass from Singleton to give the Lions a 42-21 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
Southeastern opened the second half on an 8-0 run as Capps found Nelson for a dunk and Hayes and Veal hit 3s to make it 53-21 with 16:40 remaining. Gager hit a 3 and Zachary Tullos scored off a Markwith pass to bring Millsaps to within 53-26 with 15:37 left. But Capps converted a three-point play off an assist from Hayes to give the Lions a 56-26 lead at the 15:06 mark.
Millsaps used a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 58-33 on a Gardner layup with 12:23 left. But Corchiani fed Capps for a dunk and Veal hit a jumper to make it 62-35 with 9:47 remaining.
Southeastern ended the game on a 19-0 run. Capps had a pair of dunks off passes from Brock and Veal and another following a steal while Greenwood contributed a pair of layups to push the Lions' lead to 72-39 with 4:43 left. A 3 by Mejia gave Southeastern a 79-39 lead at the 3:08 mark.
Southeastern will have a quick turnaround before playing Tulane Monday at 7 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans. That game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN3. The Lions return home Wednesday to play Jackson State at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center.
