HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana finished the 2015-16 as one of the hottest teams in the Southland Conference with nine wins in its final 13 games and seven straight wins at home.
 
    The Lions will look to continue that momentum when they open the 2016-17 season against Millsaps College Friday at 7 p.m. in the University Center.
 
    "It is confidence," third-year Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner said of the importance of winning the opener. "You can't build a winning program by losing. Winning breeds confidence. The (strong finish) from last year, I think you are starting to see some of that carry over to this year and we want to continue to do that."
  
    Courtside Top Cat seats for the game are $26. General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children (age 3-12). Southeastern students will be admitted free with a valid university ID card. The University Center box office opens one hour prior to tip-off.
  
    Friday's game 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. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of Friday's men's game at www.LionSports.net/watch. Live stats will also be accessible on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
  
    Southeastern is coming off a pair of exhibition victories over Southern-New Orleans (81-53) and LSU Alexandria (59-53) the past two weeks. Ladner said the experience the Lions gained from those games was crucial for a program bringing in seven newcomers.
 
    "Exhibition games are, to me, more valuable for us here at Southeastern than scrimmages because they force us to learn and progress a little bit faster," Ladner said. "With as many new faces as we have, I think that was critical. The fact that we were able to play one game where we won fairly easily and then have a more competitive game against LSU Alexandria, I think has forced us to grow up a little bit faster. I'm really pleased we won both our exhibition games, but we have a long way to go, starting with Millsaps on Friday."
 
    Southeastern is expected to go with the same starting five it had against LSUA with redshirt junior Jabbar Singleton, junior Davon Hayes and sophomore Marlain Veal at guard, senior Jordan Capps at forward and senior Dominic Nelson at center.
 
    Coming off the bench will be redshirt junior forward James Currington; sophomore guard Dimi Cook; sophomore forward Moses Greenwood; junior guards Eddy Polanco and George Brock; freshman forward Brandon Gonzalez; and freshmen guards Chris Mejia and Michael Corchiani. 
 
    Hayes, a transfer from Northeast Mississippi Community College, had a team-high 11 points against LSUA along with five rebounds and two steals. Veal added 10 points, four assists and five steals. Capps, the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder from 2015-16, pulled down seven rebounds while adding eight points. Nelson had three blocks.
 
    Millsaps went 5-21 overall and tied for sixth at 4-10 in Southern Athletic Association play in 2015-16. The Majors lost to Centre, 68-48, in the quarterfinals of the SAA Tournament.
 
    Six players who saw playing time return, led by guard Trent Markwith (6.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 39 assists, 25 steals). Also returning are junior guard Brennan Gagen (5.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 40 assists); sophomore forward Logan Mancuso (2.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 14 blocks); forward Wade Mason (2.3 ppg) and guards Johnathan Manning and Daniel Coleman.
 
    Tim Wise is in his 14^th season as head coach of the Majors.
 
    "I've known Coach Wise for a long time and he does an outstanding job there," Ladner said. "They are a very well-coached, disciplined team and they are going to do a lot of things that will expose you if you are not ready.

    They are going to execute on offense and it's going to be a big challenge for us because they are going to run a lot on offense. They are a lot like the Princeton teams back in the 1980s and '90s in that they cause a lot of problems if you are not ready to jump out there and get a hold of them. And when you play a team like that, as we saw in the two exhibitions, this is their Final Four. This is a big deal to them. They get an opportunity to play up in class. They are not far away and they will bring some fans with them so we need to be ready to play."
   
    Southeastern is 13-0 all-time against Millsaps in a series that dates back to the 1961-62 season. The teams have not met since the Lions took a 91-45 victory at home in the 2010-11 season opener. In that game, former Lion Trent Hutchin scored Southeastern's first 18 points, hitting five 3-pointers in the first 3:38, as Southeastern opened with a 35-4 run.
   
    Ladner is hoping for a similar start Friday night. He is also looking for another strong defensive effort from his team after the Lions held SUNO and LSUA to 29.8 and 28.8 percent from the field, respectively.
  
    "I think they key for us against Millsaps is to get off to a great start," Ladner said. "We have been able to play a lot of defensive pressure through the first two games. One of our goals is to hold teams to under 30 percent opponent field goal percentage and we've done that both games. That's a significant accomplishment, so we want to start off really applying pressure, getting on them early and setting the tone of the game. We want to get up and down the floor and they are going to want to play the game more in the half court. Our pressure is going to be a big key in doing that."
  
    The victory over Millsaps in 2010-11 was the last win in a season opener for Southeastern. The Lions are 33-35 all-time in season openers after dropping five straight. Southeastern has won 10 straight home openers, including a 76-69 win over Mississippi College in 2015-16.
  
    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.