HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana's rally from a 16-point second-half deficit fell just short as Sam Houston State held on for 71-69 Southland Conference victory Saturday night in the Johnson Coliseum.

    Junior guard Davon Hayes' tying 3-pointer was off the mark with five seconds left as Southeastern (12-10, 5-4 Southland) nearly pulled off the rally by holding Sam Houston (16-6, 7-2) without a field goal over the final 3:54.                                                                                                                                      

    Hayes tied a career-high with seven 3s in finishing with a game-high 23 points. Junior forward Eddy Polanco tossed in 18 points, 13 in the second half. Sophomore forward Moses Greenwood added 17 points while senior center Dominic Nelson had a game-high eight rebounds. Southeastern shot 48 percent from the field, 52.6 percent on 3s and stayed even in the rebounding battle, 30-30. But the Lions also turned the ball over 19 times.

    Aurimas Majauskas led Sam Houston with 16 points. John Dewey III had 15 points, Dakarai Henderson 11 and Paul Baxter 10. Torry Butler had six rebounds. The Bearkats shot 47.3 percent from the field in winning their sixth straight.  

    Chris Galbreath Jr. drove in for a dunk off a Dewey steal and Butler tossed in a putback to give Sam Houston a 56-40 lead at the 12:20 mark of the second half.

    Southeastern rallied with a 16-5 run to get to within 61-56 with 5:44 left. Polanco had nine points during the run, including a 3 and a pair of layups. Sophomore guard Marlain Veal added a 3 and a layup.

    Baxter came back with a three-point play and Majauskas hit a fadeaway jumper to push the lead back to 67-59 with 3:54 remaining. But Greenwood and Polanco each hit two free throws and Hayes nailed a 3 to make it 69-65 with 1:29 left. A Veal free throw cut the deficit to three with 50 seconds remaining.

    Hayes then grabbed a steal and the Lions called a timeout with 19 seconds left. Southeastern worked the ball to Hayes in the left corner but his 3 was off the mark. Dewey grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Veal before making both free throws with five seconds remaining. Hayes hit a 3 with a second left to make it 71-69. Baxter missed both free throws but the Bearkats were able to deflect the rebound away at the buzzer.

    Sam Houston got out to a 9-3 lead on a Butler layup at the 15:32 mark. Southeastern answered with a 14-3 run over the next 4:28. Greenwood hooked in a shot to tie it at 10 and Polanco put the Lions up 13-12 with a 3 from the right wing with 12:03 left. Greenwood rattled in a shot and sophomore guard Dimi Cook hit two free throws to make it 17-12 with 11:04 remaining.

    Sam Houston came back to pull to within 20-19 on Baxter's jumper from the right wing at the 6:37 mark. Freshman guard Michael Corchiani took a steal in, Cameron Delaney sandwiched a pair of 3s around one by Dewey to give the Bearkats a 28-22 lead with 3:13 left.

    That would be the start of an 18-3 Sam Houston run over the final 5:31 of the half. A tip-in by Greenwood at the 2:22 mark was Southeastern's lone field goal in eight attempts during the span. Majauskas hit another 3 and Henderson drove the lane to give the Bearkats a 37-25 halftime lead.

    Hayes hit three 3s and Greenwood scored off a Veal pass to cut the deficit to 43-36 with 17:20 left. But Dewey drained a 3, then lofted a pass to Butler for a dunk as Sam Houston went on a 7-0 run to go back up 50-36 at the 16:08 mark.

    Jumpers by Greenwood and Hayes cut the margin to 10 with 14:44 left.

    Southeastern returns home to play Nicholls Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center.
 
SAM HOUSTON STATE 71, SOUTHEASTERN LA. 69
SOUTHEASTERN LA. (12-10, 5-4 SLC)
Hayes, Davon 8-16 0-0 23; Polanco, Eddy 6-9 4-4 18; Greenwood, Moses 7-11 3-4 17; Veal, Marlain 2-8 2-4 7; Cook, Dimi 0-0 2-2 2; Corchiani, Michael 1-2 0-0 2; Nelson, Dominic 0-1 0-0 0; Mejia, Chris 0-1 0-0 0; Singleton, Jabbar 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 11-14 69.
SAM HOUSTON STATE (16-6, 7-2 SLC)
Majauskas, Aurimas 7-9 1-2 16; Dewey III, John 5-10 3-4 15; Henderson, Dakarai 4-11 1-2 11; Baxter, Paul 3-5 4-7 10; Butler, Torry 3-6 1-2 7; Delaney, Cameron 2-4 0-0 6; Galbreath Jr., Chris 1-2 2-2 4; Almanza, Albert 1-3 0-0 2; Williams, Jamal 0-2 0-0 0; Delaney, Josh 0-2 0-0 0; Spivey, Jovante' 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 12-19 71.
Southeastern La...............   25   44  -   69
Sam Houston State.............   37   34  -   71
3-point goals--Southeastern La. 10-19 (Hayes, Davon 7-10; Polanco, Eddy 2-3; Veal, Marlain 1-3; Corchiani, Michael 0-1; Singleton, Jabbar 0-2), Sam Houston State 7-21 (Henderson, Dakarai 2-7; Dewey III, John 2-4; Delaney, Cameron 2-4; Majauskas, Aurimas 1-2; Almanza, Albert 0-1; Delaney, Josh 0-2; Baxter, Paul 0-1). Fouled out--Southeastern La.-Nelson, Dominic, Sam Houston State-None. Rebounds--Southeastern La. 30 (Nelson, Dominic 8), Sam Houston State 30 (Butler, Torry 6). Assists--Southeastern La. 16 (Veal, Marlain 6), Sam Houston State 16 (Dewey III, John 6). Total fouls--Southeastern La. 17, Sam Houston State 18. Technical fouls--Southeastern La.-None, Sam Houston State-None. A-1265