FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Southeastern Louisiana sophomore guard Marlain Veal and junior guard Eddy Polanco scored in double figures but the Lions could not overcome a pair of first-half scoreless spells in a 67-59 loss at Colorado State Friday afternoon in Moby Arena.
 
    Veal finished with 20 points while Polanco had a career-high 15 for Southeastern (4-2). The Lions rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to get as close as eight in having a three-game win streak snapped.
 
    Southeastern shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the field, the first time this season the Lions shot less than 47 percent. Southeastern committed a season-low 11 turnovers and were 10-of-12 at the line but were out-rebounded 42-33. Senior center Dominic Nelson led the way with eight rebounds.
 
    "We didn't shoot the ball particularly well," Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner said. "Colorado State and coach (Larry) Eustachy are famous for great defense. They did a great job and were very well-prepared defensively. Give them proper credit but we just didn't have our energy level quite where it needs to be. It was a tough turnaround coming off a big emotional win for us (against UTEP) on Wednesday and the high altitude here. I'm not trying to make excuses, but guys who make some open looks like we had struggled a little bit from the field tonight. If they make a couple of those, we certainly have a chance.
 
    "I thought overall our defensive effort was good. We just didn't quite have it. They battled hard and the guys gave good effort, but we just weren't quite on our game tonight to get another big road victory."
 
    Colorado State (4-1) shot 37.3 percent (19-of-51) from the field and 72.7 percent (24-of-33) at the line. Emmanuel Omogbo had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Devocio Butler tossed in 12 points.
 
    Both teams struggled from the field in the first half as Colorado State took a 29-19 lead. Southeastern shot 22.2 percent while the Rams were at 26.7.
 
    A jumper by junior guard Davon Hayes got Southeastern to within 30-21 at the 19:09 mark of the second half. But Colorado State responded with a 14-6 run over the next 5:27 to take its biggest lead at 44-27 on a Che Bob jumper with 13:42 remaining.
 
    Southeastern chipped into the deficit, getting it down to 46-38 on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Michael Corchiani with 10:17 left. A 3 by Butler pushed the lead back to 51-38 at the 9:29 mark, but Polanco answered with a pair of baskets to trim it to nine with 8:42 left. Omogbo hit two free throws to make it 60-45 at the 5:22 mark.

    The Lions got it back down to 65-57 on a Hayes layup with 55 seconds left. But Omogbo responded with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession.
 
    Veal drained a 3 and a long jumper and Polanco added a jumper to give Southeastern a 7-6 lead at the 14:59 mark of the first half. But the Lions went scoreless over the next 5:29, allowing Colorado State to go up 13-7 on a three-point play by Butler. Corchiani hit his first career 3 at the 9:30 mark, but Anthony Bonner and Bob answered with 3s to make it 19-10 with 7:46 remaining.
 
    Veal drove in for a layup and junior guard Jabbar Singleton hit a 3 to cut the deficit to four with 6:45 left. But the Rams capitalized on a 5:12 scoreless spell by the Lions to extend the lead to 25-15 with 5:02 left. That was the last points for either side until Lions sophomore forward Moses Greenwood hit two free throws at the 1:33 mark. A 3 by J.D. Paige with 43 seconds left helped Colorado State take a 10-point lead into the half.
 
    Southeastern wraps up its three-game road trip at California Sunday at 7 p.m. The game will be on the Pac-12 Networks. 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 California, will be accessible on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.