Southeastern Louisiana at Mississippi Valley State
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2018 | 7 p.m. | Itta Bena, MS | Harrison HPER Complex (5,000)
Series History: SLU 3-2
Last Meeting: SLU 73, Mississippi Valley State 59 (Birmingham, Ala. – Nov. 25, 2017)
Television: None
Radio: None
 

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team looks to continue building momentum after Saturday's 69-57 win over Stetson when they hit the road Tuesday night to face Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Mississippi at 7 p.m.
 
The Lions (2-3) will look to build off their stellar defense after back-to-back games holding their opponent under 60 points when they face MVSU for the second straight year.
 
"I thought we really stepped it up in the second half Saturday," said fifth-year SLU head basketball coach Jay Ladner. "We allowed Stetson to shoot over 50 percent in the first half and that's not going to be good enough to win many basketball games. But to hold them to 26 percent shooting in the second half was the key to pulling that one out. We have a lot of new faces and are still trying to come together on the offensive end so early on we are going to rely on our defense to win games and we did that Saturday."
 
SLU defeated Mississippi Valley State 73-59 last year in Birmingham, Alabama at the Savannah Invitational. Southeastern jumped out to a 46-27 lead at halftime before MVSU rallied to cut the lead to 60-52 with 4:19 to go before the Lions pulled away.
 
The Delta Devils (0-5) come in to Tuesday's night game with one of the more difficult schedules in the area and have yet to play a home game. MVSU has faced Nebraska, Texas Tech, Utah, Utah State and Robert Morris. The Delta Devils are led by seniors Dante Scott (6-4, 220, SF) and Jordan Evans (6-2, 165, G) each averaging 14.2 points per game.
 
"You can throw out their record because look who they've played," said Ladner. "They've played a lot of the same teams we've played like Nebraska and we didn't fare any better against those teams than they did. If we had their schedule, I'm not sure we wouldn't be in the same spot they are in. You kind of have to know the landscape of Division-I. This will probably be one of the few non-conference home games they will have all year. So anybody that looks at their record and thinks that is an indication of the team they are is not really looking into things hard enough. They are pointing to this game as getting back to playing a team with similar size and athleticism to them so we expect them to be ready to play against us and to get their best effort. Hopefully we will be locked in and put our best foot forward."
 
SLU got career nights from senior Marlain Veal and Moses Greenwood Saturday against Stetson. Veal, the senior point guard, had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists becoming the first Lion since Mar. 3, 2006 (Ricky Woods at Lamar) to record a triple-double. Greenwood, a senior forward, scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
"Moses is just solid every day," said Ladner. "It was good to see him have a career night but he did what he does every other day. He is a work-horse that scores around the basket and doesn't force things. He takes what the defense gives him. Marlain, on the other hand,  has kind of struggled early on and a lot of that was probably due to the competition we were playing (LSU, Texas Tech, Nebraska) and the fact that he is playing through an injury. But I thought that was one of his best efforts in a Southeastern uniform. I thought Marlain was intent on us winning and he helped will us to do that."
 
After Tuesday's game, the Lions will have nearly a week off before hosting Louisiana College Monday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. at the University Center. SLU will follow Monday's game with a match-up against the Tulane Greenwave on the road Saturday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m.
 
HARDWOOD CLUB/S CLUB
 
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the basketball program are encouraged to join the Hardwood Club.  Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letterwinners.
 
All membership fees and donations to Hardwood Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern basketball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Basketball, follow @SLU_Hoops and @CoachLadner on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
SEASON OF GIVING
Southeastern Louisiana Athletics, the Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs will hold a food drive throughout the months of November and December. Fans who bring one of the requested items to the University Center (game day only) or the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics will receive a voucher for a discounted ticket.