HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball used suffocating defense to force 25 turnovers in a 75-49 win over William Carey Saturday in an exhibition game at the University Center.
                                                           
"One thing I'm not worried about is our defensive effort," said first SLU men's basketball head coach David Kiefer. "We did a great job of putting pressure on them the entire game and we want to make our opponents work for the entire 94 feet and we did a great job of that. We're not even really trying to get steals so we don't run ourselves out of the play but if we're always in the way and pressuring then we will get the turnovers."
 
Southeastern's Nick Caldwell led the Lions with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman from Geismar, Louisiana also ripped down seven offensive rebounds. Sophomore LaQuan Butler added 14 points with three assists and three steals to pace SLU.
 
"LaQuan is going to be our x-factor," said Kiefer. "He can really pressure the basketball and help set a tone and I thought he did that today. He's just a really good player and it will show throughout the year. And Nick is just solid. He has a great basketball IQ. He can shoot, pass and dribble. And I don't know if people realized just how athletic he is but he made some plays under the rim today that were impressive."
 
While the Lions dominated the majority of the game, the Crusaders opened the game on a 9-2 run. SLU, quickly, erased the lead going on a 12-1 run to take a 14-10 lead. Later in the first half, the Lions went on another 12-2 run to pull out in front, 35-20 and led 41-23 at halftime.
 
The second half was all Lions as they continued to build on their halftime lead. SLU led by as much as 30, 73-43, in route to the win.
 
Southeastern held William Carey to 20-for-50 shooting and outrebounded the Crusaders, 41-31. The Lions grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and collected 13 steals on the defensive end. 
 
Pape Diop, Jeremiah Saunders and Max Starwood each added eight points to help pace a balanced offensive attack that included 10 different players scoring.
 
Next up, SLU will take on the Tulane GreenWave Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. in the season opener.
 
Fans can keep up with all the action of Nov. 6's game with Tulane with live statistics or by following @LionUpMBB on Twitter. Web links to audio and stats are available on the basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
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
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