HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will again try to clinch a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament and wrap up a winning regular season when the Lions visit conference front-runner New Orleans in their 2016-17 finale Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in the Lakefront Arena.

    Southeastern (15-15, 8-9 Southland) missed out on clinching a tournament berth with a 77-71 loss at Nicholls on Saturday. The Lions can still clinch with a win on Thursday or a loss by Central Arkansas or two losses by Nicholls. The top eight teams advance to the conference tournament, scheduled for March 8-11 in Katy, Texas.

    Southeastern is also looking to finish over .500 in the regular season since the 2010-11 team went 15-13.

    "We've lost some heart-breaking games this season, but the fact we are playing our last game of the season with our goals still in front of us – winning season, conference tournament, NCAA Tournament or postseason tournament – and playing a critical basketball game, is progress for our program," Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner said.  

    New Orleans (17-10, 12-4), meanwhile, holds a one-game lead over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Stephen F. Austin for first. The Privateers close out their season at Nicholls on Saturday.

    Thursday's game will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Links to live video and stats, provided by New Orleans, will be accessible on the men's basketball schedule page at LionSports.net.

    New Orleans took a 60-52 win at Southeastern in the team's previous meeting in Hammond on Feb. 11. The Lions tied their season low in points. The Privateers were held to their second lowest while shooting a season-low 32.7 percent from the field. Southeastern grabbed nine steals, blocked seven shots and grabbed 41 rebounds, but also went scoreless over an 8:17 span of the second half, committed a season-high 23 turnovers and 26 fouls and shot just six free throws.

    The Lions will once again try to cool down the top-shooting team in the Southland on Thursday. The Privateers rank first in field goal percentage (.473) and assists (16.1 apg) while averaging 73.7 points. New Orleans is also third in free throw percentage (.720) while shooting 33.4 percent on 3-pointers.

    Southeastern, conversely, leads the conference in scoring defense (68.2 ppg) while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (42.8 percent) and fourth in blocks (3.3 bpg).

    Senior forward Erik Thomas (20.0 ppg) is the second-leading scorer in the conference while also ranking second in field goal percentage (.608). He is also fifth in rebounding (7.8 rpg), including a league-best 3.1 offensive rebounds. Senior guard Christavious Gill is 23rd in the league in scoring (11.6 ppg) and ninth in 3-pointers made (1.9). Junior forward Travin Thibodeaux (8.6 ppg) is tied for sixth in rebounding (7.4 rpg) while ranking ninth in assists (3.5 apg).

    Thomas, Gill, Thibodeaux, senior guard Tevin Broyles (7.7 ppg, 72 assists) and junior forward Makur Puou (5.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), who ranks sixth in the league with 1.4 blocks, are the projected starters for the Privateers. Senior guard Nate Frye is third on the team with 10.6 points per game coming off the bench.

    On the other end of the court, New Orleans is the league-leader in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.312) while ranking third in scoring defense (70.1 ppg) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (.445). The Privateers rank third in steals (8.0 spg) and fifth in blocked shots (3.2 bpg).

    Southeastern counters with an offense averaging 71.3 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting. The Lions are fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.0 percent while shooting 67.7 percent on free throws.

    Sophomore guard Marlain Veal, who earned Co-Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Week honors Monday after averaging 28.5 points over the past two games, is 11th in the Southland in scoring (14.1 ppg). He is also fifth in the conference in assists (4.5 apg) and eighth in steals (1.7 spg). Junior forward James Curringon, who has started 14 games since missing the first nine games with an injury, leads the team with 6.8 rebounds a game while averaging 8.8 points. Senior center Dominic Nelson (4.0 ppg) is tied for third in the league and tied for 43rd nationally in blocks (2.0 bpg) while ranking 13th in the SLC in rebounding (6.6 rpg).

    Also in the starting lineup for the Lions are junior guard Jabbar Singleton (4.3 ppg, 76 assists) and junior forward Eddy Polanco (9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg). Leading the charge off the bench are junior guard Davon Hayes (12.3 ppg) and sophomore forward Moses Greenwood (11.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who is fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.565).

    Both teams are among the conference leaders in rebounds. The Lions are second in rebounding margin (+4.0) and third in both rebounding offense (36.4 rpg) and defense (32.3 rpg). The Privateers are second in rebounding defense (32.0 rpg), third in rebounding margin (plus-3.9) and seventh in rebounding offense (35.9). Each team had 41 rebounds in their first meeting.

    Turnovers will be another key on Thursday, Ladner said. Southeastern is averaging 15.9 a game while forcing 15.0. New Orleans is creating 16.5 turnovers but also giving it up an average of 17.1.

    "We need to make sure we continue to play defense at a high level, especially against this team," Ladner said. "And we have to rebound the basketball. They are the biggest team in our league overall, a big and physical and experienced team. We were able to stay with them on the boards (in the first meeting) and we need to do better than stay with them on the boards. We have to cut down on turnovers. They are one of the better teams at forcing turnovers, but at the same token, they are one of national leaders in turning over the ball. If we can force them to turn it over and not turn it over so much ourselves, we can give ourselves some extra possessions."

    Both Southeastern and New Orleans are coming off road losses on Saturday. Veal had career highs with 29 points and seven 3-pointers against Nicholls. Currington added his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Greenwood contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

    The Privateers dropped an 83-82 decision at Northwestern State despite a game-high 23 points from Thomas. Thibodeaux had 12 points and seven rebounds and Broyles 10 points.

    Southeastern is 4-12 on the road while New Orleans is 11-2 at home in 2016-17. The Privateers lead the series with the Lions 12-3.