HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana opens its 18-game Southland Conference schedule Thursday against Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. in the University Center.

    LionVision subscribers can access a live video stream  of the game between the Lions (6-7, 0-0 Southland) and Lumberjacks (11-2, 0-0 Southland) at www.LionSports.net/watch. Live stats will be accessible on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    The game is also a Cane's Challenge. If the Lions top 60 points, fans can take their game tickets or student coupons to their participating Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers to receive a free combo with the purchase of another of equal or greater value by the end of business on Friday.

    Southeastern will be out to a snap a three-game losing streak. The Lions hung with Notre Dame for the first 22 minutes in their last contest on Dec. 21, but an 18-0 run by the Fighting Irish allowed them to pull away to an 86-50 non-conference victory in Purcell Pavilion.

    A layup by senior forward Jordan Capps kept Southeastern within 41-33 with 17:38 remaining. But the Lions would not score again until junior guard Keith Charleston hit two free throws with 12:29 left.              

    Capps finished with a team-high 17 points and two blocks. Junior forward Moses Greenwood added eight points while senior forward James Currington, junior guard Marlain Veal and senior guard Eddy Polanco had six apiece. Veal also had team highs with seven rebounds and four assists. The Lions shot a season-low 29.9 percent overall, 22.2 percent in the second half, in matching its lowest scoring output of the season.

    Stephen F. Austin enters conference play coming off a 116-66 rout of Arlington Baptist on Dec. 21. Sophomore guard Kevon Harris led five Lumberjacks in double figures with 29 points in earning honorable mention Southland Player of the Week honors. Junior guard Shannon Bogues added 15 points, senior guard Ty Charles 14, junior forward TJ Holyfield 13 and sophomore guard John Comeaux 12. Senior guard Ivan Canete had 11 assists.

    SFA shot 62.5 percent from the field, including 42.9 on 3s, and held a 43-23 rebounding advantage.
      
NOTES
Southeastern
    Southeastern goes into Thursday's game averaging 72.3 points on 43.6 percent shooting overall. The Lions are allowing 72.9 points per contest on 45.2 percent shooting. The Lions are getting out-rebounded, 35.6-35.3.
 
    Veal, who earned honorable mention Southland Player of the Week honors on Wednesday, leads the conference in assists per game (5.2). He is 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 17th in scoring (12.3 ppg). Capps leads the Lions and is 16th in the Southland with 13.1 points per game. He ranks seventh in field goal percentage (.534). Greenwood is ninth in the league in rebounding (6.4) while averaging 8.7 points per game.    
 
    Veal, Capps, Currington (8.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 21 steals) and senior guards Jabbar Singleton (6.6 ppg, 31 assists) and Joshua Filmore (8.3 ppg, 18 assists) are the projected starters for the Lions.
 
    Stephen F. Austin has won five straight and eight of the past 11 against Southeastern to take a 31-15 lead in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season. The Lumberjacks won 60-52 in Hammond in the last meeting on Feb. 18, 2017. The Lions' last win came at home, 54-50, on Feb. 16, 2013.
 
    Southeastern is 11-13 at home and 4-15 at SFA. The Lumberjacks have also defeated the Lions twice in the Southland Tournament and once at a neutral site in Shreveport.
 
    Southeastern is 10-10 in Southland Conference openers since joining the league for the 1997-98 season. The Lions snapped a five-game losing streak in league openers with a 75-53 win over Abilene Christian in the University Center on Dec. 31, 2016.
 
    This year's Dec. 28 is the earliest date for a Southland Conference opener for Southeastern since the 2002-03 season when the Lions won at Nicholls State, 68-60, on Dec. 28.
 
Stephen F. Austin
    The Lumberjacks lead the Southland in shooting 49.6 percent and are second with 84.2 points per game and 36.8 percent on 3s.
 
    Defensively, the Lumberjacks are allowing 68.6 points on .455 percent shooting. They are giving up a league-low 30.0 rebounds while grabbing 35.0.
 
    Harris is second in the league with 18.0 points. Sophomore guard Aaron Augustin is second in assist/turnover ratio (2.3) and fifth in steals (2.3) and assists (4.3). Holyfield is tied for fourth with 6.8 rebounds per game.
   
    Harris, Holyfield (15.5 ppg), Canete (8.5 ppg, 42 assists, 24 steals), senior forward Leon Gilmore III (7.8 ppg) and Augustin (5.5 ppg) are the expected starters for SFA.
   
 
UP NEXT:
   Southeastern closes out 2017 with a New Year's Eve trip to Southland rival Central Arkansas. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.