HAMMOND, La. – Junior guard Marlain Veal tossed in 21 points and senior guard Eddy Polanco 20 as Southeastern Louisiana wrapped up its exhibition season with an 80-71 win over William Carey Tuesday night in the University Center.

    Polanco hit five of his first six shots, including 4-of-5 on 3-pointers, to give the Lions a 44-30 lead. Veal scored 16 of his points in the second half as Southeastern held off a late William Carey charge. Veal was 7-of-7 from the line in the half and 9-of-9 overall.

    Junior forward Moses Greenwood contributed a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds to go with 15 points. The Lions shot 46.2 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Crusaders 40-39.

    William Carey (0-1) hit the offensive boards to trim into the deficit, grabbing 14 of its 18 offensive rebounds in the second half. Troy Salvant led the Crusaders with 20 points. Jaylen Moore added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Adrian Williams and Quinton Williams were also in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. William Carey was 39.4 percent from the field.

    Southeastern never trailed in the contest after getting out to a 12-2 lead behind three 3s by Polanco. Another 3 by junior guard D'Angelo West, making his Lion debut, push the margin to 15-4 at the 14:25 mark. After a layup by Salvant got William Carey to within eight with 10:04 left, Polanco hit a 3 and Veal scored off a steal to make it 24011 with 8:49 remaining in the half.

    The Crusaders got to within 24-17 on a Maurice Stephens free throw with 6:09 left. But senior forward James Currington drove in for a layup and Greenwood hit four free throws in the final 1:15 to make it a 44-30 game at the half.

    A Veal layup extended the lead to 53-37 with 16:10 remaining. William Carey responded with a 13-6 run to get to within 59-50 on two Moore free throws with 10:49 left. After Southeastern regained a 66-50 lead on a jumper by senior guard Jabbar Singleton at the seven-minute mark, the Crusaders went on a 9-2 run, capped by a Peyton Owen jumper that made it 68-59 with 3:02 left. But four Polanco free throws down the stretch helped the Lions hold on.

    Southeastern tips off the regular season Friday at home against Centenary at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM 90.9 and can be heard online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive. 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.
 
QUOTES:
Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:
   "Let's give William Carey credit. We tried to tell our players the type of game it was going to be and I don't think they paid much attention to it. We got off to a fast start and I like the way Eddy shot the ball early in the game. But it looks like from that point on, we just shut it down. I'm really displeased with our effort in the second half. They ended up with 18 offensive rebounds, 14 of them in the second half and most of them by just poor fundamentals or lack of effort. We obviously have some work to do."