EL PASO, Texas – Junior guard Davon Hayes led three Lions in double figures with a career-high 19 points as Southeastern Louisiana snapped a 19-game non-conference road losing streak with a 72-56 victory over UTEP in the Don Haskins Center Wednesday night.
 
     It was the Lions' first win at a non-conference opponent's place since an 80-76 win at UT Martin on Jan. 9, 2013. Southeastern is also off to its first 4-1 start since the 2010-11 season with its first victory over UTEP (2-3) in four tries.
 
    "I was just real proud of them," Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner said. "Just like the Jackson State game, they were playing on fumes. We have a lot of guys out and the rest of them are just stepping up and getting it done. They want to put Southeastern basketball on the map."
 
    Sophomore guard Marlain Veal contributed 18 points, a career-best nine rebounds and six assists for the Lions. Senior center Dominic Nelson had his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Lions pulled down a season-high 47 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
 
    UTEP was held to 33.9 percent shooting and 32 rebounds. Omega Harris had 13 points, Matt Willms 12 and Dominic Artis 11. Artis also had six rebounds and five assists.
 
    UTEP never got any closer than nine after Southeastern went on a 19-4 run over the final 8:09 of the first half to take a 42-27 halftime lead.
 
    The Miners took advantage of three straight Lion turnovers to start the second half to pull to within 42-32 on a dunk by Willms at the 18:30 mark. Southeastern got the lead back to 49-36 on a short jumper by Nelson with 15:56 left. But Willms scored off a steal by Artis to cut the margin to 49-40 with 14:47 remaining. Hayes answered with a 3, then hit a short jumper and added a layup to give the Lions a 56-40 lead at the 12:40 mark.
 
    A Harris 3 got UTEP to within 58-45 with 10:03 left. A jumper by Artis made it a 13-point game at the 7:52 mark. But Southeastern responded with free throws by Veal and a jumper just inside the paint by Hayes to take a 67-51 lead with 5:02 left. Hayes then sealed it with a dunk off a Veal pass, giving the Lions a 17-point lead with 2:04 left.
 
    UTEP jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a three-point play by Harris with 17:37 left in the first half. But Southeastern rallied with a 16-0 run over the next 5:43. A Veal layup gave the Lions a 9-7 lead at the 14:39 mark. Junior guard Jabbar Singleton drove in for a layup and junior guard Eddy Polanco knocked down a 3 to make it 16-9 with 12:34 remaining.
 
    A Willms jumper cut the deficit to 16-13 at the 11:33 mark. But Polanco countered with a jumper and Nelson tipped in a rebound for a 23-16 lead with 9:23 left. UTEP came back with a 7-0 run, tying the game at 23 on a 3 by Trey Touchet with 8:25 remaining until the half.
 
    Nelson scored off a pass from Polanco to give Southeastern the lead for good at 25-23 with 8:09 left. That was the start of a 19-4 run as Hayes followed with a 3. A Veal layup gave the Lions their first double-digit lead at 36-26 at the 3:29 mark. Polanco knocked down a 3 with 35 seconds left to give Southeastern a 42-27 halftime lead.
 
    Southeastern travels to Colorado State for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Friday. The game will be on the Mountain West Network. It will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Live stats, provided by Colorado State, will be accessible on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.