RIVERSIDE, Calif.  – Sophomore Isiah Kirby banked in the game winner with less than a second left to cap off the Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball team's 14-point second half comeback win over California Baptist, 81-80, Wednesday night at the CBU Events Center.
 
The Lions (1-3) trailed, 71-58, with 9:00 to play before storming back to take the lead, 79-78, thanks to three free throws by Keon Clergeot with 2:04 remaining. SLU didn't score again until the final seconds when Clergeot found Kirby cutting to the basket for the layup with less than a second remaining.
 
"I was just moving with out the ball," said Kirby. "And Keon made a great pass and I was able to hit the shot. But the entire team did a great job of fighting hard to rally and win this one."
 
Kirby, out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, finished with a career-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting including three three-pointers. Junior Joe Kasperzyk added 11 points while sophomore Byron Smith scored 10 points, eight in the second half, to fuel the Lions' rally. Senior Pape Diop had eight points and tore down nine rebounds.
 
It's been a hectic 48 hours for Southeastern as the Lions shook off a lopsided loss to LSU Monday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tuesday morning, they departed for CBU making the 1800-mile trip.
 
"It shows the grit and toughness of the team," said second year SLU head coach David Kiefer. "Cal Baptist was able to practice for a week for the game and we practiced 45 minutes the day of the game. It was just great to see our guys bounce back after a tough one at LSU and then to battle through the 1800-mile road trip. After Friday's game, we will have played five games in four different states and three different time zones in 10 days. And not one player or coach has complained about it. This was a big one for us."
 
The Lions, after shooting 10-for-78 (12 percent) from the three-point line in their first three games, exploded Wednesday night shooting 11-for-22 from beyond the arch.
 
CBU (0-2) was led by Reed Nottage scoring a career-high 26 points including four three-pointers. Gorjok Gak added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Lions and Lancers will face off again Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Riverside. The game will be available on the WAC Digital 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
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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.