HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will look to avenge its last loss in the University Center when the Lions host UIW in Southland Conference play Monday at 2 p.m.
The Lions (8-6, 1-0) opened Southland play with a 75-53 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday, extending their home winning streak to 13. UIW (5-7, 0-1) handed the Lions their last home loss, in 75-71, on Jan. 16, 2016.
"We have a quick turnaround against a very talented team," Southeastern head coach
Jay Ladner said. "What will be in our craw a little bit is that they are the last team to have beaten us at home. Our players have taken great pride in kind of righting some wrongs, so to speak, on some people who beat us last year. We have one shot at this team and we need to be ready to go."
The 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 at www.LionSports.net/watch. Live stats will also be available at
www.LionSports.net.
Abilene Christian was the fourth team Southeastern avenged a 2015-16 loss to this season, joining Jackson State, Florida A&M and Southern. In Saturday's victory, junior forward
Eddy Polanco hit five 3-pointers to lead Southeastern with 17 points. Junior forward
James Currington added a career-high 14 points while sophomore forward
Moses Greenwood had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Dimi Cook contributed a season-high 10 points and three assists. Sophomore guard
Marlain Veal had five assists and junior guard
Davon Hayes and freshman guard
Michael Corchiani four apiece as the Lions had 20 assists versus 14 turnovers. The Lions shot 55.8 percent from the field and out-rebounded Abilene Christian, 36-22.
Southeastern won its conference opener for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The last time the Lions started 2-0 in league play was in 2009-10.
Southeastern is now averaging 73.7 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting - second best in the Southland - and is first in the league and 11th nationally in 3-point percentage (41.0). The Lions also lead the conference in scoring defense (68.0 ppg) and are second in field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent). The Lions pace the league in rebounding margin at plus-4.0 in averaging 35.8 rebounds and allowing 31.8.
Veal leads the team with 14.1 points per game while ranking third in the conference in assists (58) and sixth in steals (23). Hayes (13.6 ppg) is third in the Southland in 3-pointers made (29) while Greenwood is averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. Senior center
Dominic Nelson (5.0 ppg) is second in the league in blocks (35), fourth in total rebounds (102) and sixth in rebounds per game (7.3). He is 23rd in the country with 2.5 blocks per game. Junior guard
Jabbar Singleton (3.8 ppg) has dished out 43 assists.
Defense will be a key for Southeastern as UIW is the second-highest scoring team in the Southland, averaging 78.7 points per game while allowing 81.2.
Three Cardinals rank in the top 15 in the Southland in scoring. Junior guard Shawn Johnson is sixth with 17.1 points per game and fourth in rebounds per contest (8.0). Sophomore forward Simi Socks is ninth in the league in scoring (15.0 ppg) while junior guard Jalin Hart is 13th. Hart is also fourth in assists (27) and fifth in steals (24). Junior forward Devin Wyatt (5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is third in the conference in blocks per game (2.7). Junior guard Sam Burmeister (6.9 ppg, 21 assists) is the other projected starter.
Sophomore guard Tyler Singleton (10.7 ppg, 25 assists) and freshman guard Jorden Kite (7.3 ppg) are the top scorers off the bench for the Cardinals.
UIW opened conference play with a 94-84 loss at Nicholls on Saturday. Hart led four Cardinals in double figures with 23. Socks added 22, Johnson 17 and Burmeister 12. Junior center Miles Bankes came in to grab a game-high 13 rebounds.
"They took Texas to the wire a couple of weeks ago," Ladner said of UIW's 78-73 loss at the Longhorns in the season opener. "They will be one of the more-talented offensive teams we will play. They've scored in the 90s and 100s a lot so we will have to be ready to go
Southeastern and Incarnate Word have met just three previous times with the Lions holding a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Lions open a three-game conference road trip at Houston Baptist Thursday at 7 p.m.
