HAMMOND, La. – Top-seeded Southeastern Louisiana will begin the quest for the second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history when the Lions take on No. 4 Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament Friday at 5 p.m. in the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.

    The winner between Southeastern (21-10, 15-3 Southland) and Sam Houston (19-13, 12-6 Southland) will play the winner of No. 2 Nicholls and either No. 3 Stephen F. Austin or No.7 Central Arkansas for the tournament title and automatic NCAA berth at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

    Friday's game will be shown on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app, while Saturday's championship game can be seen on ESPN2. All Southeastern games can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. Links to the stream, radio and live stats will be accessible on the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    Southeastern is making its 14th appearance in the Southland Tournament and its first as the top seed. The Lions clinched their first regular season title since the 2004-05 season and the third since they joined the conference in 1997-98 with a 69-57 win over Nicholls on Saturday.

    The victory, which also secured an automatic bid into the National Invitation Tournament should the Lions fail to win the Southland Tournament, was Southeastern's eighth-straight win and its school-record 15th league victory.

    Sam Houston advanced to the semifinals with an 85-63 win over fifth-seeded New Orleans on Thursday. The Bearkats, which broke a two-game losing streaking with the win, are playing in their 16^th straight Southland Tournament.

    The game will feature two of the best defenses in the Southland. Southeastern allowed a Southland-low 65.7 points per game in league play. The Lions held their last seven opponents, and nine of their last 10, to under 70 points. Overall, the Lions allowed 68.7 points - second best in the conference - on 43.3 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent on 3s.

    Sam Houston, meanwhile, gave up a league-low 67.6 points per game overall. The Bearkats were also the best in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.427) and 3-point field goal percentage (.306), the latter ranking 10th in the country.

    Both teams also featured first-team All-Southland selections. Junior guard Marlain Veal was voted the league's Defensive Player of the Year after finishing the regular season second in the league and 26th in the country with 2.06 steals per contest, with his 64 steals the 24th-most nationally. He was the conference regular season leader and ranked 19th nationally with 6.1 assists per game. His 190 assists are a school single-season record and rank 18th in the country. He also ranked fourth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.8) while averaging 12.6 points.

    Sam Houston senior forward Chris Galbreath Jr. ranked third in the league in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and eighth in scoring (15.2 ppg).

    Both Veal and Galbreath had plenty of help. Junior forward Jordan Capps made second-team All-Conference after leading the Lions with 13.7 points per game while ranking seventh in the league in field goal percentage (.536). Junior forward Moses Greenwood was sixth in the conference in field goal percentage (.538) and 12th in rebounding (5.8 rpg) while averaging 10.3 points per game. Senior guard Joshua Filmore was third in 3-pointers made per game (2.5) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (.387) while averaging 9.5 points with 57 assists.  Senior guard Eddy Polanco averaged 8.0 points and was 11th in free throw percentage (.785).

    The Lions averaged 72.6 points on 45.5 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent beyond the arc. Southeastern was second in the Southland with a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio in league games. The Lions also averaged 34.8 rebounds while giving up 35.3.

    For Sam Houston, junior guard John Dewey III was second in the conference in free throw percentage (.856), fifth in assists (4.4 apg) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) while averaging 9.8 points a contest. Junior guard Josh Delaney (6.7 ppg, 64 assists) ranked seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.402) and 14th in 3-pointers made per game (1.6). He led the conference with a .478 3-point field goal percentage in league games. Junior guard Marcus Harris (10.1 ppg, .771 free throw percentage and senior guard Jamal Williams (8.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 50 assists, 33 steals) are other offensive threats for the Bearkats.

    Sam Houston averaged 70.4 points on 42.5 percent shooting from the field, including 32.6 percent on 3s. The Bearkats shot 70.9 percent on free throws. On the boards, Sam Houston averaged 37.3 while allowing 34.3, both fourth-best in the conference. The Bearkats led the league with a plus-2.7 margin in conference games while their 12.4 turnovers per game were the second-fewest in the conference.

    Greenwood had a double-double in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 24 in Huntsville, Texas, but Sam Houston State pulled away in the final 3:35 for a 75-65 victory. The Lions trailed 62-59 with 3:35 left before the Bearkats went on a 12-2 run over the next 3:07.

    Greenwood finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Veal added 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while Filmore and Polanco had nine points apiece.

    Galbreath also had a double-double for Sam Houston with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Dewey contributed 18 points while Harris had 13. The Bearkats committed just five turnovers in the contest.
           
NOTES:
    Southeastern is making its first semifinal appearance since 2013. The Lions are 1-3 in semifinal games, defeating Sam Houston State in 2005 while losing to UTSA in 2004, Sam Houston in '10 and Stephen F. Austin in '13. Southeastern won the 2005 tournament title with a 49-42 win over Northwestern State
 
    Southeastern is 7-12 in the tournament, 3-9 since it moved to the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas in 2008. The Lions, seeded seventh, lost to sixth-seeded Lamar, 77-65, in the first round in 2017.
 
    Southeastern's 21 wins are the most since the Lions went 24-9 in 2004-05.
 
    Southeastern's eight-game winning is the longest by the Lions since they joined Division I in 1980-81. The streak is currently tied for the eighth-longest in the country.
 
    Veal needs one assist to tie Leo McClure's Southeastern career record of 433.        
 
    Sam Houston has won seven straight and 15 of the past 17 against Southeastern to take a 29-15 lead in the series. The Lions' last win against the Bearkats was a 69-65 victory in Hammond on Jan. 24, 2013.
 
    The teams have split their previous two meetings in the Southland Conference Tournament with Southeastern taking a 71-62 victory in the 2005 semifinals and Sam Houston coming away with an 88-85 win in the first round in 2010.
 
Southland Conference Tournament Ticket Information
    The Southeastern Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office encourages all Lion and Lady Lion fans to purchase tickets for the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, Friday and Saturday, at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas through the SLU Ticket Office.

    Southeastern is selling all-tournament books that includes tickets for all eight sessions of the tournament for $70. Single-session tickets are on sale for $20. Tickets can be picked up at the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office Friday from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The ticket office number is (985) 549-5466. 

    SLU fans who purchase tickets on game day at the Merrell Center are encouraged to visit the Southeastern Athletics window at the tournament site.