HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will look to end a two-game losing streak on Wednesday as the Lions host Southland Conference rival Nicholls at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center.
Wednesday's game between the Lions (12-10, 5-4 Southland) and Colonels (11-11, 4-5 Southland) is a Gold Out in the UC as all Southeastern fans are encouraged to wear their gold Lion gear to the games.
The game is also a Cane's Challenge night. If the Lions score 60 or more points, fans can take their game ticket or student coupon to any participating Raising Cane's by the end of business on Thursday to receive a free combo with the purchase of another combo of equal or greater value.
Wednesday'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 at www.LionSports.net/watch. Live stats will also be available at
www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern opens the second half of Southland play in a three-way tie for fourth, two games back of Sam Houston State and New Orleans. Nicholls is in a three-way tie for seventh.
Southeastern had its 16-game home winning streak snapped, 85-71, by Northwestern State last Wednesday, then was nipped, 71-69, at Sam Houston on Saturday. The Lions have not lost three straight since a nine-game skid from Dec. 4, 2015 to Jan. 16, 2016.
In Saturday's game, junior guard
Davon Hayes tied a personal best with seven 3-pointers, tied for the fourth most in Southeastern history, in leading the Lions with 23 points. Junior forward
Eddy Polanco tossed in 18 points. Sophomore forward
Moses Greenwood added 17 points while senior center
Dominic Nelson had a game-high eight rebounds.
Nicholls snapped a two-game losing streak of its own with a 78-74 win over McNeese on Saturday. Senior guard Johnathan Bell had 19 points and junior guard Jahvaughn Powell 16 to lead the Colonels. Junior guard Lafayette Rutledge came off the bench to add 13 points while senior forward Adam Ward pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Southeastern goes into Wednesday's game averaging 72.4 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting. The Lions continue to rank second in the conference in both scoring defense (69.2 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (43.5 percent).
Hayes has taken over the team scoring lead with 13.1 points per game. Sophomore guard
Marlain Veal (13.0 ppg) ranks fifth in the conference in assists (4.3 apg) while Greenwood (12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) is fifth in field goal percentage (.572). Nelson (4.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) is third in the conference and tied for 32nd nationally in blocks (2.23 bpg) and needs one more block to move into the top 10 on the Lions' all-time season list. Junior guard
Jabbar Singleton (4.5 ppg, 65 assists) has started all 22 games for Southeastern.
Nicholls is averaging 75.1 points while allowing 79.0 points per game. Senior forward Ja'Dante' Frye leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference with 15.7 points per game while averaging a team-best 6.2 rebounds. Bell is averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds to go with 44 steals. Rutledge is also in double figures with 10.5 points per game.Powell (9.5 ppg) is second in the league in steals (2.2 spg) and sixth in assists (4.1 apg). Senior center Liam Thomas (6.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) leads the nation with 3.8 blocks per game. Junior guard Stevie Repichowski (6.9 ppg) is also projected to start for the Colonels.
Southeastern leads 50-43 in the series that dates back to the 1959-60 season. The Lions and Colonels split a pair in 2015-16, with Southeastern taking a 69-61 win in Hammond and Nicholls winning in Thibodaux, 64-45, in the regular season finale.
Southeastern will be back on the road Saturday, traveling to Central Arkansas for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
