HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana returns to action Tuesday following a 14-day break for exams as the Lions visit UCF for a 6 p.m. (CDT) tip-off in the CFE Arena in Orlando, Florida.

    The game between the Lions (5-3) and Knights (6-3) will be will be available on ESPN3 and can also be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Live stats, courtesy UCF, will be accessible on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    Southeastern goes into Tuesday's game on a four-game winning streak, its longest since Feb. 24-March 3, 2016. It is also the Lions' longest in non-conference since Nov. 24-Dec. 5, 2009. Southeastern has not won five straight games since Feb. 13-March 3, 2006 and has not win five straight non-conference games since Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2005. Southeastern will also be looking for its first four-game road win streak since taking five straight from Jan. 19-Feb. 19, 2005.

    Southeastern is coming off an 80-53 home win over Loyola (New Orleans) on Nov. 28. Senior forward Jordan Capps set a career best with three 3-pointers in tossing in 21 points, his third straight game of at least 18 points. Junior forward Moses Greenwood added 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds while junior guard D'Angelo West hit four 3s in scoring a career-high 12 points. The Lions hit 11 3s and shot 45 percent overall while pulling down a season-high 41 rebounds. 

    UCF pulled away from a 34-32 lead to defeat Southern (Baton Rouge), 76-60, on Saturday. Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6, 290-pound junior center, had a game-high 18 and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior forward A.J. Davis added 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while senior guard D'jordjije Mumin had 12 points. The Knights shot 52.8 percent while holding a 38-25 edge.
 
NOTES
Southeastern
    Southeastern is averaging 73.8 points on 43.6 percent shooting from the field. The Lions are 63-of-177 on 3-pointers, ranking second in the Southland with a .356 percentage. Southeastern is allowing 71.8 points per contest on 46.3 percent shooting, including 36.0 percent on 3s.
 
    The Lions are averaging 35.2 rebounds while allowing 34.0. Southeastern is second in the league and 12th nationally with 14.13 offensive rebounds per game. The Lions are also 34th in the country in turnovers forced (17.25 per game).
 
    Junior guard Marlain Veal is second in the conference in assists per game (5.1). He is also fifth in steals per game (2.3), 14th in assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and 16th in scoring (team-high 13.5 ppg). Capps is tied for ninth in field goal percentage (.538), 11th in blocked shots (1.1 bpg) and 19th in scoring (12.5 ppg). Senior forward Eddy Polanco is sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (.433), seventh in free throw percentage (.806), 13th in 3-pointers made (1.6 per game) and 28th in scoring (11.0 ppg). Greenwood ranks seventh in rebounds (6.9 rpg) while averaging 8.8 points per game.
 
    Veal, Greenwood, senior forward James Currington (7.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), senior guard Jabbar Singleton (5.3 ppg, 20 assists) and junior guard Keith Charleston (5.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg., 15 assists) are the projected starters for the Lions.
 
    Southeastern has had nine different players score in double figures in a game this season - Veal, Singleton, Capps, Polanco, Greenwood, Currington, Charleston, West and senior guard Joshua Filmore. Veal, Filmore, Polanco, Greenwood, Capps and Charleston have all scored 15 or more points in a game.
 
    Southeastern has held four straight opponents under 70 points, its longest string since a five-game span from Jan. 26-Feb. 9, 2013.
 
    Filmore, an Orlando native, will be playing in his home town for the second time in his Southeastern career. The Wekiva High School product scored 17 points in a 70-65 loss to the Knights in 2014-15.
 
    UCF has won the past four meetings between the former Trans-American Athletic Conference rivals to take a 7-3 lead in the series which dates back to 1990. The Knights came away with a 70-65 win in Orlando in the last meeting on Dec. 22, 2014. Southeastern's last win was a 95-84 TAAC victory at home in 1996. The Lions are is 2-4 on the road against UCF.
 
    UCF is the third former TAAC member Southeastern has played this season. The Lions defeated Centenary 99-67 in the season opener on Nov. 10 before taking a 77-71 victory at Samford in the Savannah Invitational on Nov. 24.
 
UCF
    UCF went 24-12 and advanced to the NIT semifinals in Johnny Dawkins' first season as the Knights head coach in 2016-17. UCF returns three starters and six letterwinners from that squad.
 
    Fall, who led the American Athletic Conference with a 71.5 field goal percentage and was the league defensive player of the year, currently leads the Knights with 11.3 points per game. Davis is averaging a double-double with a team-high 10.0 rebounds and 10.3 points per game. He also has 28 assists, tied with sophomore guard Terrell Allen who leads the team in steals (15). Junior forward Chad Brown has a team-high 16 blocks.
 
    Expected to start for UCF are Fall, Davis, Allen (7.1 ppg), Mumin (5.2 ppg) and redshirt-freshman guard Ceasar DeJesus (9.0 ppg, 16 assists, 10 steals).
 
    The Knights, who have won two straight, are averaging 65.2 points on 43.1 percent shooting. Opponents are shooting 38.5 percent in scoring 64.4 points per game.
 
    UCF is averaging 39.3 rebounds while allowing 34.1.
 
    The Knights are 4-1 at home this season.  
 
QUOTES:
Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:
On UCF…
    "It's a preseason Top 25 team and we will have our hands full with them. They are very talented, obviously, with the biggest player in college basketball who is very good in Tacco. They are well-coached with Johnny Dawkins one of the outstanding coaches in the country. We look at these as an opportunity. Every time we go on the road to play a top 25-level team, it's a chance for us to promote our program and to let people know nationally the good things we have here at Southeastern Louisiana."
 
On the break…
    "I think it came a little bit at a good time. Naturally you don't want to be off two weeks, but we played eight games and that was a lot of games to play in a short period of time due to our travel schedule. We were gone most of that time and in that sense it was good for a break. We were going to make sure our guys had an opportunity during exam week to focus totally on academics. That's very critical to us. Now I feel like today (Thursday), with exams over with, we can get back to work and prepare for kind of a mini season with these last five non-conference games."
 
Southeastern senior forward Jordan Capps:
On the team's defensive improvements…
    "In practice, we can't harp on it enough. That is what we work on most of the time and that should be what you want to work on because defense wins championships, not offense. You are going to score, but are you going to get stops, that is what it comes down to."
 
UP NEXT:
   Southeastern returns home to play Southern-New Orleans Thursday at 7 p.m. in the University Center. The Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office and Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will collect non-perishable food items at the Gate 3 entrance to the University Center. The items will be donated to the Tangi Food Pantry, a non-profit organization that provides nutritious groceries to over 44,000 individuals and families in need.

    The Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Promotions will also be hosting Academy Youth Night, All fans 12 and under will receive free admission and $3 tickets will be available for all middle, junior high and high school students that present a local school ID at the Gate 3 ticket booth. For both games, Southeastern Athletics will also be giving out SLU paraphernalia courtesy of Academy Sports and Outdoors.

    The game is also a Cane's Challenge. If the Lions reach 60 points or more, fans can take their game ticket or student coupon to their local participating Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value.