HAMMOND, La. – Keon Clergeot scored eight straight points to break a 43-43 tie with 15:03 to help the Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team pull away from Paul Quinn College, 77-60, Sunday afternoon at the fourth annual Maxwell Lieberman Classic in the University Center.
 
In tribute of SLU men's basketball associate head coach Mark Lieberman's late son, Maxwell, the men's basketball program raised $17,000 towards the March of Dimes foundation. Maxwell passed away at four-months old back in 2012 due to premature birth complications.
 
On the court, Southeastern (2-1) appeared to be running away with the game early as they raced out to a 25-14 lead with 9:14 left in the first half. However, PQC held strong as they cut the lead to single digits before halftime, 37-29.
 
The Tigers (3-1) battled back to tie the game at 43-43 with 15:03 left in the second half using an 11-2 run.
 
But Clergeot, the preseason first team All-Southland selection, caught fire as he scored eight straight points and 10 of the next 12 for the Lions to push the SLU lead back to nine, 54-45, with 12:08 left. The Winter Haven, Florida native drilled a three-pointer to break the tie, then moments later hit another three-pointer and was fouled to convert a four-point play.
 
The Lions maintained a two possession lead the rest of the way as they pulled away for the victory.
 
SLU had to work a little harder on the offensive end Sunday following Friday's 19 three-pointer performance. The Lions shot just 39 percent from the field (26-for-66) and 7-for-25 from downtown.
 
However, Southeastern was nearly perfect at the free throw line knocking down 18-for-20 from the charity stripe. SLU also outrebounded the Tigers, 44-35, and snatched 16 offensive rebounds.SLU's defense was terrific as they finished the game with 11 steals.
 
Clergeot finished with 18 points to lead SLU. Junior Gus Okafor also aided the Lions' cause as he recorded his fourth double-double of his SLU career (17 points, 10 rebounds). Jalyn Hinton was a key factor as well for the Lions as the senior scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots.
 
With Sunday's win, the Lions also notched the 300^th win in the history of the University Center (300-181).
 
The Tigers were led by Ja'Mare Redus with 17 points while Spencer McElway finished with 15. Paul Quinn finished the game shooting 25-for-61 (41 percent) with 14 turnovers.
 
Next up, the Lions will travel to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU (1-1) Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
 
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 @LionUpMBB and @DavidKieferSLU on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
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.