HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will look to clinch a berth in next month's Southland Conference Tournament when the Lions host Abilene Christian Saturday at 5 p.m. in the University Center.

    Southeastern (17-10, 11-3 Southland) can clinch a berth in the tournament, scheduled for March 7-10 in Katy, Texas, with a victory over the Wildcats (15-11, 7-6 Southland) or losses by either McNeese or Central Arkansas. Southeastern will also be out to become just the second Lions team with 12 Southland wins, joining the conference champion 2004-05 squad.

    The Lions, winners of four straight, enter the weekend in sole possession of second place in the league, a half-game behind Nicholls (17-9, 11-2). Abilene Christian is tied with Central Arkansas for seventh in the Southland standings, a half-game behind Lamar.

    Southeastern jumped out to a 25-point lead and held on for a 71-64 win over New Orleans on Wednesday. The Lions held the Privateers scoreless for 8:46 during an 18-0 run in the first half. Senior forward Jordan Capps led the Lions with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Marlain Veal tossed in 14 points and had five assists. Junior forward Moses Greenwood added 11 points while senior guard Joshua Filmore had five assists.

    Abilene Christian has been off since snapping a two-game losing streak with an 80-69 win over UIW last Saturday. Junior forward Jaren Lewis led ACU with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Senior guards Tevin Foster added 17 points and Drake Green 11, while junior forward Hayden Howell came off the bench to contribute 12 points and six rebounds.

    Southeastern continues to rank first in the Southland in points allowed in conference play at 67.5 points per contest, holding 11 of their 14 league opponents under 70 points. Overall, the Lions are allowing 70.1 points on 44.1 percent shooting,

    That Lion defense will be tested Saturday against an Abilene Christian squad that is shooting a league third-best 47.9 percent, including 34.3 percent on 3s, in averaging 75.7 points per contest. The Wildcats are second in the league with 15.9 assists per game and third in turnover margin (plus-2.2).

    ACU has four players averaging in double figures in sophomore center Jalone Friday (13.8 ppg), Lewis (13.5), Foster (12.9) and junior guard Jaylen Franklin (10.5). Lewis was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 19 points and 18.5 rebounds against Nicholls and UIW. His 20 rebounds against the Colonels were a school Division I record and the most in the Southland this season. He is second in the conference in field goal percentage (.591), fourth in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and ninth in steals (1.7 spg).

    Friday is fifth in the league in blocks (1.6 bpg). Franklin is third in field goal percentage (.564) and assists (4.8 apg), tied for fourth in steals (1.9 spg) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7) while Foster is seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and ninth in assists (3.7 apg).

    Projected to start for the Wildcats are Friday, Lewis, Foster, Franklin and Green (3.9 ppg).

    On the other side of the court, ACU is second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.334) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.435) while allowing 71.0 points per game.

    Southeastern counters with an offense that is averaging 72.6 points on 44.5 percent shooting, including 35.3 percent beyond the arc.

    Capps leads the Lions with 13.3 points per game while ranking 10th in the league in field goal percentage (.526).    Veal is the conference leader and ranks 17th nationally with 6.1 assists per game. His 165 assists rank 16th in the country. He is also second in the league and 21st in the country with 2.2 steals per contest with his 60 steals the 14th-most nationally. He also ranks fourth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.8) while averaging 12.5 points.

    Greenwood is 12th in the conference in rebounding (6.0 rpg) while averaging 10.2 points per game. Filmore is fourth in 3-pointers made per game (2.5) while senior guard Eddy Polanco is ninth in free throw percentage (.802).

    Veal, Capps, Filmore (9.4 ppg, 47 assists), senior guard Jabbar Singleton (6.3 ppg, 58 assists) and junior guard Keith Charleston (3.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 41 assists) are the projected starters for the Lions. Polanco is averaging 8.0 points off the bench.

    Southeastern took a 72-70 win at Abilene on Jan. 6. Capps finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Jabbar Singleton hit four 3-pointers in recording 14 points and five assists. Filmore added 13 points while Veal had 11 points and six assists. Greenwood pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior guard Jaylen Franklin had 18 points to lead the Wildcats Lewis added 13 points while junior forward Hayden Farquhar had seven rebounds.

    Southeastern led 66-59 with 1:12 left but ACU pulled to within 71-70 with 17 seconds remaining. Senior guard Isaiah Tripp's 3 from the left corner went long with .7 seconds left.

    The Southeastern Channel will televise the contest live and a stream will also be online on the Southland Digital Network (www.Southland.org/live). It can also be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. A link to live stats can be found on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    Southeastern will hold its 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.
 
NOTES:
    Southeastern leads the series with the series with Abilene Christian, 7-1, with the Wildcats' lone win coming on Feb. 21, 2016, 91-80, in Abilene. The Lions are 4-0 at home against Abilene Christian.
 
    Southeastern's 11-3 start in Southland Conference play is tied with the 2003-04 squad for the second best through 14 games since joining the league in 1997-98. The 2004-05 team started 12-2.
 
    Southeastern's 4-0 start in February is its best in that month since the 1984-85 team also started 4-0. It is the Lions' best start to any month since the 2006-07 squad started 4-0 in November.
 
    Southeastern is 13-8 under head coach Jay Ladner when playing a team for the second time in the regular season. The Lions are 2-0 in rematches in 2017-18 with sweeps of Central Arkansas and McNeese
.
    Joe Golding is in his seventh season as the head coach at Abilene Christian.
 
QUOTES:
Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:
On Abilene Christian:
    "Our magic number was five. We're down now to four. We know we have a great challenge in front of us. This is another team that is coming off a bye. They are very well-coached. They run a great offense and have a very talented team. Our players are very familiar with them but we will have our hands full on Saturday."
 
UP NEXT:
Southeastern is off until visiting Northwestern State next Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.