HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana will try to get its 10th Southland Conference win of the season when the Lions visit McNeese Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off in Burton Coliseum.

    Southeastern (15-10, 9-3 Southland), off to its best league start since 2004-05, has not won 10 conference games since the 2012-13 squad finished 10-8. The Lions are tied with Sam Houston State (15-10, 9-3) and New Orleans (12-11, 9-3) for second in the Southland, a half-game back of Nicholls (15-9, 9-2).

    McNeese (8-13, 5-6 Southland) is a half-game back of Abilene Christian (14-11, 6-6) for the eighth and final spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament.

    The Lions are coming off an 86-68 win at UIW on Wednesday. Senior guard Joshua Filmore tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers in finishing with a team-high 21 points. Junior guard Marlain Veal had 17 points in becoming the 18th Lion with 1,000 career points. He also set a career high with 12 assists as the Lions had 18 assists while recording a season-low six turnovers. Senior forward Jordan Capps added 15 points while junior forward Moses Greenwood tossed in another 14. Senior guard Keith Charleston tied a career high with 11 rebounds for the second straight game.

    McNeese's comeback from a 56-32 halftime deficit against Stephen F. Austin fell short on Thursday as the Lumberjacks held on for a 99-95 win in Burton. Junior guard James Harvey finished the night with a season- and game-high 23 points while junior guard Jarren Greenwood added 21 points. Junior forward Quatarrius Wilson has his eighth double-double of the season with 14 rebounds and 14 points. Sophomore guards Jacob Ledoux tossed in 16 points and Kalob Ledoux 14.

    Southeastern leads the Southland in points allowed in conference play at 67.8 points per contest, holding nine of their 12 league opponents under 70 points. Overall, the Lions are allowing 70.5 points on 44.2 percent shooting while averaging 72.6 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field.

    Veal is the conference leader and ranks 16th nationally with 6.2 assists per game. He is also first in the league and 17th in the country with 2.22 steals per contest. Capps leads the Lions with 13.0 points per game while ranking ninth in the league in field goal percentage (.527). Greenwood is 12th in the conference in rebounding (6.1 rpg) while averaging 9.8 points per game. Filmore is tied for third in 3-pointers made per game (2.6) while senior guard Eddy Polanco is ninth in free throw percentage (.806).

    Veal (12.2 ppg), Greenwood, Filmore (9.6 ppg, 39 assists), Charleston (3.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 37 assists) and senior guard Jabbar Singleton (6.5 ppg, 56 assists) are the projected starters for the Lions. Polanco is averaging 8.5 points off the bench.

    McNeese comes in averaging 75.0 points on 43.0 percent shooting. The Cowboys are third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage at .360, including a conference-best .424 in league play. McNeese is also third in the conference in field goal percentage defense at .433, including a second-best .414 in league games. Overall, opponents are averaging 76.6 points per game.

    McNeese is second in the conference with 39.0 rebounds per game while also allowing 39.0. The Cowboys rank third in blocked shots (4.7 bpg).

    Wilson leads the Southland with 10.1 rebounds per game, including 11.1 in league action. He is also averaging 10.7 points per game. Kalob Ledoux is the team leader and ranks ninth in the conference in scoring with 15.5 points per contest, including 19.4 in league games. He is also fifth in 3-pointers made (2.5 per game) and seventh in 3-point percentage (.402). Greenwood is averaging 13.2 points per game. Harvey, an Amite native, is tied with Filmore for third in the conference with 2.6 3s per game.

    Projected to start for McNeese are Kalob Ledoux, Greenwood, Wilson, Harvey (11.5 ppg,) and senior forward LaBarrius Hill (3.5 ppg, 1.4 bpg).

    McNeese won the earlier meeting with Southeastern in Hammond, 71-62. The Lions cut a 14-point deficit to five with 3:40 remaining, but the Cowboys were able to hold on. McNeese held Southeastern to a season-low 26.2 percent from the field. Polanco led the Lions with 15 points while Capps added 14. Kalob Ledoux finished with a game-high 19 points for the Cowboys. Greenwood contributed 15 points while Wilson added 10 points and 11 rebounds.  

    The game between the Lions and Cowboys can be heard 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, provided by UIW, can be found on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
NOTES
    Southeastern has won seven road games for the first time since 2004-05 and is 5-1 in Southland road games.
 
    McNeese leads 65-44 in the second-most played series by Southeastern. The Cowboys are 41-13 in Lake Charles against the Lions.
 
    Southeastern will be playing in Burton Coliseum for the final time on Saturday. McNeese is moving into a new arena, located next to Cowboy Stadium, in 2018-19. The Lions are 6-14 all-time in Burton.
 
    Southeastern is 12-8 under head coach Jay Ladner when playing a team for the second time in the regular season.
 
    Veal currently ranks 17th in program history with 1,009 points. Filmore is closing in on the 1,000-point mark with 960 points in his career. Filmore is now second on the Lions career list with 199 3-pointers.Veal needs four assists and five steals to move into second place on the all-time Southeastern season list.
 
    Dave Simmons is in his 12th season as head coach at McNeese.
 
UP NEXT:
    Southeastern returns to the University Center Wednesday to host New Orleans at 7 p.m.