HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana cut an 11-point deficit to three in the final two minutes but Stephen F. Austin held on for a 60-52 Southland Conference victory Saturday evening the University Center.
A three-point play by sophomore forward
Moses Greenwood got Southeastern (14-14, 7-8 Southland) to within 52-49 with 1:42 left. But Stephen F. Austin (15-11, 10-4) answered with a layup by Ivan Canete on the ensuing possession.
Isaiah Traylor and Kevon Harris combined for three free throws before the Lions scored again on a layup by junior forward
Davon Hayes with 29 seconds left. A free throw by Canete and two by Traylor sealed the win for the Lumberjacks, their fourth straight overall and fifth straight over Southeastern.
Hayes finished with a team-high 13 points for the Lions while Greenwood had 12. Center
Dominic Nelson, who was honored before the game for Senior Day, had five rebounds to share team honors with Greenwood and junior forward
James Currington. Southeastern shot 39.1 percent from the floor and out-rebounded SFA, 39-29, but was held to 15.4 percent (2-of-13) on 3-pointers.
Harris led all scorers with 14 points for Stephen F. Austin. T.J. Holyfield added 13 points and had six rebounds to share game-high honors with Ty Charles. The Lumberjacks shot 44 percent, including 23.1 percent on 3s.
SFA took a 52-41 lead on a layup by Harris with 4:25 left. But sophomore guard
Marlain Veal opened an 8-0 run for Southeastern with a jumper. Currington added another jumper before Greenwood converted the three-point play off an assist by Veal at the 1:42 mark.
Nelson broke a 21-21 halftime tie with a jumper to give Southeastern its last lead with 19:42 left. Layups by Canete and Leon Gilmore III gave SFA a 27-23 lead with 17:31 remaining. After Veal hit two free throws to make it 29-27 with 14:29 left, the Lumberjacks went on a 10-1 run to go up 39-28 on a three-point play by Traylor at the 11:30 mark.
Greenwood broke Southeastern's 6:21 span without a field goal with a jumper with 10:45 left. A 3 by Hayes, a Currington layup and a jumper by Greenwood cut the deficit to 43-37 with 7:05 remaining.
A Hayes 3 gave Southeastern an 8-2 with 12:08 left in the first half. Holyfield hit a 3 to pull SFA to within 10-8 at the 9:05 mark. But the Lions answered with a 6-0 run over the next 3:25 to take their biggest lead at 16-8 on a Nelson free throw with 5:40 remaining.
The Lumberjacks closed the half on a 13-5 run, tying the game at 21 on a Charles layup with 7 seconds left.
Southeastern will close out its 2016-17 home schedule Wednesday against Central Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center.
