HAMMOND, La. – Two teams in the chase in the Southland Conference square off Wednesday as Southeastern Louisiana hosts in-state rival New Orleans at 7 p.m. in the University Center.

    Southeastern (16-10, 10-3 Southland) and New Orleans (13-11, 10-3) head into the game tied with Sam Houston State (16-10, 10-3) for second in the conference, a half-game back of Nicholls (16-9, 10-2). Both the Lions and Privateers can clinch a berth in next month's conference tournament with a win and losses by McNeese and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

    Southeastern will also be out to become just the third Lions team with 11 Southland wins, joining the conference champion 2003-04 and '04-05 squads. The Lions also look to win 17 games overall for the first time since 2009-10.

    The Lions are coming off a 74-67 win at McNeese on Saturday. Junior forward Moses Greenwood and junior guard Marlain Veal had 20 points apiece as Southeastern held off a second-half rally. Veal added five assists and nine rebounds while going 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Senior forward Jordan Capps contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.

    New Orleans won its fifth game in its past six, 62-53, at Corpus Christi on Saturday. Senior forward Travin Thibodeaux came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Bryson Robinson contributed 15 points while junior guard Diontae Champion tossed in eight.

    Wednesday's game figures to be a low-scoring contest. Southeastern enters first in the Southland in points allowed in conference play at 67.8 points per contest. Overall, the Lions are allowing 70.3 points on 44.2 percent shooting, including 34.2 percent on 3s.

    New Orleans, meanwhile, is tied for third in the Southland in overall scoring defense (69.5 ppg). Opponents are shooting 46.3 percent, including 37.0 percent on 3s. The Privateers are forcing 16.17 turnovers a game, 19th-best in the country.

    Offensively, Southeastern is averaging 72.6 points on 44.3 percent shooting, including 35.1 percent beyond the arc. Capps leads the Lions with 13.1 points per game while ranking ninth in the league in field goal percentage (.528).

    Veal is the Southland leader and ranks 17th nationally with 6.2 assists per game. His 160 assists rank 16th in the country and are the second most in a season by a Lion. Veal is also second in the league and 21st in the country with 2.2 steals per contest with his 58 steals the 14th-most nationally and the fourth-most in program history.

    Greenwood is 10th in the conference in field goal percentage (.520) and 12th in rebounding (6.0 rpg) while averaging 10.2 points per game. Senior guard Joshua Filmore is third in 3-pointers made per game (2.6) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage (.390).

    Veal (12.5 ppg), Capps, Filmore (9.6 ppg, 42 assists), senior guard Jabbar Singleton (6.3 ppg, 58 assists) and junior guard Keith Charleston (3.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 38 assists) are the projected starters for the Lions. Senior guard Eddy Polanco is averaging 8.2 points off the bench.

    New Orleans is averaging 69.5 points on 45.0 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent on 3-pointers. The Privateers are allowing the second-fewest rebounds (32.5 rpg) in the league.

    Thibodeaux ranks fourth in the league with 16.8 points per game, including 17.9 points in conference games. He is also fifth in field goal percentage (.554) and 10th in blocks (1.0 bpg). He leads the squad in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and steals (33) and is second in assists (67). Junior guard Ezekiel Charles paces the conference in making 46.7 percent of his 3s. Robinson has a team-high 70 assists while averaging 9.4 points.

    Projected to start for the Privateers are Thibodeaux, Robinson, Charles (6.3 ppg), senior forward Makur Puou (8.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and freshman guard Lamont Berzat (2.7 ppg).

    Southeastern Athletics will offer a special $10 admission for couples for the Valentine's Day contest.

    LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of the game at www.LionSports.net/watch. A link to live stats can be found on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
NOTES
    New Orleans leads the series 12-4, including 6-1 in Hammond. Southeastern has won three of the past four meetings after taking a 63-58 road win in the 2016-17 regular season finale. The Privateers won the last meeting in Hammond, 60-52, on Feb. 11, 2017.
 
    Veal received honorable mention Southland Player of the Week recognition on Monday after averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists against UIW and McNeese.
 
    Veal became the third Lion with 400 career assists on Saturday. He currently has 402, trailing just Leo McClure (433, 1973-77) and Brandon Fortenberry (421, 2008-13). Filmore knocked down his 202^nd career 3-pointer against the Cardinals, joining Troy Green (257, 1995-99) as Lions with 200-plus 3s.
 
    Filmore is set to play in his 107^th career game on Saturday, tying Green and Jerry Kelly (1979-83) for ninth-most in Southeastern history.
 
    Mark Slessinger is in his seventh season as the head coach at New Orleans.
 
UP NEXT:
    Southeastern goes for a season sweep of Abilene Christian Saturday at 5 p.m. in the University Center. The Lions will host their annual men's basketball Alumni Reunion in conjunction with the game. For more information on the event, contact Southeastern Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Development Tom Dawsey at (985) 549-5226 or tdawsey@selu.edu.