HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will open a crucial stretch when the Lions host Southland Conference leader New Orleans in the University Center Saturday at 5:45 p.m.
Southeastern (13-12, 6-6 Southland) plays three of its next four at home and does not leave the state of Louisiana in its final six regular season games. The Lions are tied for sixth in the conference standings after dropping four of their previous five games, including an 80-75 loss at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday.
"I like the fact that we are in position that our future is at least in our hands," Southeastern head coach
Jay Ladner said. "We're not having to rely on somebody else (in terms of making the tournament). We just need to take care of our business and if we do so, we'll qualify for the tournament and if we don't, we may or may not. It all depends on how we do."
New Orleans (14-9, 9-4 Southland), meanwhile, took sole possession of first place in the conference Thursday with a 69-63 win at McNeese, coupled with Sam Houston State's 80-76 loss at Lamar.
In conjunction with the women's game at 3 p.m., the SLU Athletics Ticket Office will offer several ticket promotions for Saturday. All children ages 12 and under will receive free admission, while middle school, junior high school and high school students who present their local school ID will receive admission for $3. In addition, all first responders and military personnel will receive a free ticket with a valid service ID or if they are in uniform.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at
www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Live stats will also be available at
www.LionSports.net.
Saturday's game will pit one of the Southland's top defensive teams against the league's hottest-shooting squad. Southeastern leads the conference in scoring defense (68.6 ppg) while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (43.4 percent). New Orleans tops the league in field goal percentage (.476) and assists (16.5 apg) while averaging 73.1 points per game.
For the third straight game, the Lions will be going up against one of the Southland's leading scorers in Privateers senior forward Erik Thomas who ranks second in scoring (19.9 ppg) and field goal percentage (.607) and fifth in rebounding (7.7 rpg).
Senior guard Christavious Gill is 10th in the league in assists (3.2 apg) while averaging 11.5 points. Junior forward Travin Thibodeaux (9.0 ppg) is eighth in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and ninth in assists (3.7 apg), while junior forward Makur Puou (5.9 ppg) ranks sixth in blocks (1.4 bpg). Senior guard Tevin Broyles (7.5 ppg) joins them in the starting lineup. Senior guard Nate Frye is in double figures with 10.3 points per game off the bench.
Southeastern goes into the game averaging 72.2 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting. The Lions are second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.381) while shooting 69.5 percent on free throws. SLU is also fourth in assists (14.5 apg).
Sophomore guard
Marlain Veal leads Southeastern with 13.3 points per game while ranking fifth in the Southland in assists (4.3 apg) and 12th in steals (1.6 spg). Junior forward
Davon Hayes, who has six double-digit scoring games in his past seven, is averaging 13.1 points. Sophomore forward
Moses Greenwood (12.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.567) while junior guard
Jabbar Singleton (4.4 ppg, 67 assists) is the only Lion to start all 25 games. Junior forward
James Currington (8.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is the other projected starter for the Lions.
Junior forward
Eddy Polanco (9.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) has scored in double figures in five straight games after pouring in a career-high 24 points in Wednesday's loss. Senior center
Dominic Nelson (4.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is fourth in the league and 43rd nationally in blocks (1.96 bpg) and needs one more to move into the top 10 on the Lions' all-time season list.
New Orleans is allowing 71.0 points on 44.9 percent shooting. The Privateers top the league in 3-point field goal defense at 32.2 percent and rank second in rebounding defense (31.6 rpg) and third in rebounding margin (plus-4.0) while pulling down 35.6 boards a game. The Privateers are third in steals (8.1 spg) and sixth in blocks (3.2 bpg).
"I'm not surprised that is one of the league leaders," said Ladner, who is 3-2 against UNO with three of the games decided by six points or less. "It is someone I felt was going to be very good. They're big, they're physical, they are well-coached. We have had some great games in the five games we've played them. We've kind of developed into a natural rivalry because of our proximity and the games have been outstanding."
In Wednesday's loss, Southeastern battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit but could not catch Corpus Christi in the final seconds. Rashawn Thomas blocked Veal's potential tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, then went in for a dunk to seal the win for the Islanders. Polanco added a team-high six rebounds while Veal and Hayes each had 15 points.
On Thursday, Thomas led the Privateers with 16 points. Junior forward Michael Zeno added 15 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Junior guard Jorge Rosa contributed 14 points.
Southeastern swept three games against New Orleans in 2015-16 after dropping the first 11 in the series dating back to the 1973-74 season. The Lions took a 93-81 home win over New Orleans, then defeated the Privateers, 61-60, on the road before grabbing an 84-74 win in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament. UNO's last win came on March 5, 2015, 85-79, in New Orleans.
Southeastern will look to avenge an earlier 85-71 home loss to Northwestern State when the Lions travel to Natchitoches on Thursday for an 8 p.m. tip-off against the Demons.
