HAMMOND, La. - UL Lafayette's Jakeenan Gant scored on a dunk with three seconds left as the Ragin' Cajuns handed the Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team a heart-breaking 73-72 loss Saturday night at the University Center.
 
SLU (4-9) has three lost three straight games in the final seconds and five overall. The Lions lost to Grambling State 68-67 on two free throws with less than two seconds remaining by GSU's Ivy Smith Dec. 19. Southeastern was edged at Bradley, 63-60, Dec. 22 when Darrell Brown drilled a three-pointer with five seconds left.
 
The Lions led the Ragin' Cajuns (9-4) 69-63 with 1:33 to go Saturday night. UL Lafayette took the lead with 15 seconds left when P.J. Hardy drilled a three-pointer from the wing making it 71-70. Southeastern responded as junior Von Julien nailed a jumper on the baseline with 10 seconds left as the Lions regained the lead 72-71.
 
UL Lafayette's Trajan Wesley came down and dished it to Gant who slammed it home with three seconds left to steal the victory from the Lions.
 
"It's disheartening," said fifth-year SLU men's head basketball coach Jay Ladner. "That's three straight we've lost like that and it's very frustrating. I thought we deserved to win tonight, we deserved to win at Bradley and we deserved to win at Grambling. We outplayed all three of them and all we had to do was make one more play to win each game. That's toughness, lack of toughness on our part. It's the most frustrating thing I've seen and we're our own worst enemy. It's all about toughness and sooner or later somebody just has to make a play."
 
The Lions forced the Ragin' Cajuns into 18 turnovers and 40 percent shooting on 27-for-66 shooting for the game and 12-for-37 in the second half. UL Lafayette came into the game averaging 84.6 points per game (17^th in the nation) Despite the phenomenal defensive effort, Southeastern struggled at the free throw line shooting 17-for-32.
 
Marlain Veal led the Lions with 19 points and five assists but was ejected with 5:37 after picking up his second technical. After hitting a jumper, the official claimed Veal was taunting the UL Lafayette defender. The senior picked up his first technical for slapping the hand of a Ragin' Cajuns defender who was grabbing his jersey on an inbounds play.
 
"He (Veal) can't put himself in that position," said Ladner. "He's a senior and has to keep his mouth shut in that position. But even still we built a six-point lead when he went out."
 
Moses Greenwood added 18 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocks for the Lions. Julian added 10 points and four assists.
 
"Mo was great," said Ladner. "But we can't just rely on him to make all the hustle plays every single night. Somebody else has to step up sooner or later."
 
SLU finished the game 23-for-50 from the field for 46 percent and drilled nine three-pointers.
 
The Lions will look to turn the page when they open Southland Conference play Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against reigning conference tournament champion Stephen F. Austin in Nacodoches, Texas.
 
Wednesday game will be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience, TuneIn Radio and RadioFX apps. The contest will also air on ESPN+.      
.
JAY LADNER RADIO SHOW
 
Each Monday night at 7 p.m., beginning January 7th, Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner broadcasts LIVE from Rainbow Daiquiris at 14384 West Thomas Street. Talk college hoops with Coach Ladner and host Allen Waddell, cover the finer points of each game and preview upcoming games. If you can't join the crowd, you can submit a question at www.LionSports.Net for the "Ask the Coach" segment. Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner airs each Monday night during the Lions' Southland Conference schedule on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network.
 
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.