GRAMBLING, La. –  The Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team ripped down 19 offensive rebounds leading to 22 second-chance points on their way to a 77-70 win over Grambling State University Wednesday afternoon in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
"We've been emphasizing going to the offensive glass," said second-year SLU head coach David Kiefer. "Our guys were relentless all game in getting us second opportunities. We want our bigs to have the mentality that every shot we take is going to be a miss and just be ready to attack the glass and they did that tonight."
 
The Lions (2-6) were led by senior Keon Clergeot who tied a career-high scoring 25 points, including 5-for-7 from the three-point and 8-for-12 from the free throw line. The UMass transfer played all 40 minutes grabbing four rebounds dishing out two assists.
 
"He never came out of the game for a reason," said Kiefer. "He does so much for this team on both ends of the floor and he is in such great shape that he didn't need to come out. He just kept making big plays for us all game long."
 
Junior Gus Okafor added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Joe Kasperzyk also scored 16.
 
GSU (2-5) got 17 points from Kelton Edwards and 14 from Prince Moss. Trevell Cunningham added 11 points and six rebounds to aid the Tigers.
 
Southeastern jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the game and held serve for the remainder of the first half taking a 35-30 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Grambling took their first lead of the game, 54-53, with 10:49 remaining. The Lions and Tigers spent the next seven minutes battling back and forth.
 
With the game tied at 67-67, Clergeot drilled a three-pointer at the top of the key to break the tie with 3:46 remaining.
 
SLU maintained the three-point lead, 73-70, with 42 seconds left when Okafor hit a three-pointer from several feet behind the line as the shot clock expired to clinch the win.
 
"That was the dagger for sure," said Kiefer. "It was one of those shots that when it left his hand it looked good and he drilled it. Grambling did a good job of taking us out of what we were trying to do that possession. But Gus is one of those guys that really works hard every day and does everything we ask him to do and the basketball gods rewarded him for that on that shot. Just an incredible shot by Gus there."
 
Southeastern finished the game shooting 24-for-59 (40 percent) from the field while Grambling was 23-for-46 (50 percent). SLU outrebounded GSU 36-24 and outscored the Tigers 22-4 in second chance points.
 
The Lions also shot 10-for-23 (43 percent) from the three-point line while Grambling was 4-for-11 (36 percent). Southeastern finished the game with a season-low 13 turnovers while GSU had 15.
 
SLU now leads the all-time series over Grambling, 8-5, after snapping a three-game losing streak to the Tigers Wednesday.
 
Next up, Southeastern will take on Southland Conference rival Lamar in non-conference action Dec. 29 in Beaumont, Texas at 7 p.m.
 
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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TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.