HAMMOND, La. – Nine Players scored and four were in double figures for the Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team as they defeated Northwestern State, 69-55, Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
 
The Lions (15-14, 11-5 Southland) were led by Moses Greenwood with 22 points while Sophomore Brandon Gonzalez added 14. Senior Marlain Veal chipped in with 12 points while Kajon Brown scored 10.
 
Southeastern has won 11 out of 13 climbing to above .500 for the first time this year.
 
"I hope that our expectations have changed since guys like Marlain and Moses have gotten here," said fifth-year SLU head coach Jay Ladner. "But the way we started, it does feel pretty good to be above .500 but we have some work to do and have some tough games next week especially Wednesday (at home vs. New Orleans)."
 
The Demons (11-18, 6-10 Southland) were paced by LaTerrance Reed with 14 points while Ishmael Lane had 11 points and four blocked shots.
 
"Ishmael Lane is one of the top players in our league," said Ladner. "He is a bigger version of Moses so our game plan was to do everything defensively we could to keep him from getting too many touches and I thought we executed the defensive game plan very well."
 
SLU shot 27-for-53 from the field for 51 percent and scored 19 second chance points on 13 offensive rebounds. The Lions also scored 30 points in the paint to NSU's 16.
 
Northwestern State opened the game on a 10-4 run but the Lions quickly responded to take a 13-12 lead as the game see-sawed through much of the first half. However, SLU led 34-29 at halftime.
 
The Demons did not go away quietly taking a 36-35 lead early in the second half. The Lions battled back as Gonzalez hit a jumper and Greenwood drilled a three-pointer to give SLU a lead they would not relinquish.
 
"I thought Brandon was really locked in tonight," said Ladner. "He and Kajon were terrific and it just speaks to the fact that there is somebody different every night to step up. Don't get me wrong those guys play well for us regularly but when they make big plays and score like they did tonight, it makes us an even better team."
 
After NSU's C.J. Jones hit a three-pointer to pull the Demons within one, 40-39, the Lions stormed on a 24-6 run to take a 63-45 lead with 4:29 remaining in route to the win.
 
"First of all I want to give credit to our assistant coaches (Mike Cyprien, David Kiefer, Kyle Roane and Garland Wilson," said Ladner. "I think they are unsung heroes and if you asked each one of our players they would say the same thing because they recognize it to. The hard work they have put in has been remarkable. But I thought tonight was a very hard fought game and I give credit to Northwestern because they were very well prepared for us."
 
Southeastern will host UNO Wednesday night at the University Center before wrapping up the regular season at Nicholls (12-16, 5-10 Southland) Saturday, March. 9.
 
Wednesday's game can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN BASKETBALL WITH JAY LADNER
Each Monday night at 7 p.m., beginning Jan. 7th, 'Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner' broadcasts live on 90.9 KSLU from Rainbow Daiquiris at 14384 West Thomas Street. Talk college hoops with Coach Ladner and host Allen Waddell, cover the finer points of each game and preview upcoming games. If you can't join the crowd, you can submit a question at www.LionSports.net for the "Ask the Coach" segment. Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner airs each Monday night during the Lions' Southland Conference schedule on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network.
 
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
For more information on Southeastern Basketball, follow @SLU_Hoops and @CoachLadner on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.