FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team had four players score in double figures but fell 81-77 in overtime to
Western Michigan Sunday as WMU's Lamar Norman Jr. scored 31 points during the final day of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Invitational.
The Lions (3-5) got 15 points from
Keon Clergeot, including a game-tying three-pointer with 15 seconds left in regulation.
Jalyn Hinton recorded his second double-double of the season scoring 15 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and had four steals.
Gus Okafor and
Ryan Burkhardt each had 14 to pace the Lions.
Norman Jr. led the Broncos (3-4) as he shot 11-for-20 from the field and 6-for-14 from the three-point line. WMU also got a double-double from Markeese Hastings scoring 14 points and snatching 12 rebounds.
In the first half, the Lions' defense was relentless forcing the Broncos into 13 turnovers helping SLU build a 24-18 lead and a 37-33 lead at halftime. However, WMU shot 10-for-19 from the field in the first half and 5-for-10 from the three-point line to stay in the game.
SLU held a 48-43 lead with 14:09 left in the game. But the Broncos went on a 12-1 run to take a 55-49 lead with 9:09 remaining. SLU continued to battle back as they tied the game at 62-62 with 4:25 to go after a steal by Clergeot leading to a dunk for Hinton.
WMU took a 68-62 lead with under two minutes to go. Okafor drilled a three-pointer followed by an offensive rebound and lay-up by
Antonio Gordon to make it 68-67 WMU.
With the Broncos leading 70-67 with just 16 seconds left, Clergeot got open on the far side wing and drilled the game tying three-pointer to send the game to overtime tied at 70-70.
In the extra frame, the Broncos took a two possession lead, 77-72, but a steal by
Joe Kasperzyk led to three-pointer by Okafor making it 77-75 WMU. After a stop by the Lions, SLU had a chance to tie or win the game. But Burkhardt's three-point attempt was off the mark as WMU survived the Lions.
SLU finished the game 25-for-66 for 37 percent. The Broncos shot 28-for-54 for 52 percent to overcome 22 turnovers forced by the Lions.
Despite the loss, SLU finished with 17 second chance point on 15 offensive rebounds. The Lions also had 23 points off turnovers but couldn't over come to shooting struggles.
Next up, SLU will have a week off before taking on Troy on the road in Troy, Alabama Sunday, Dec. 5th at 4 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
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.
