KATY, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team drilled 16 three-pointers on its way to a 90-81 win over Houston Baptist Thursday in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tip-Off Event at the Merrell Center.

The Lions were red-hot from the field as they shot 60 percent for the game on 32-for-53 shooting. SLU also was 16-for-25 from behind the three-point line for 64 percent. The Huskies finished 34-for-65 from the field for 53 percent and 9-for-29 from the three-point line.
 
The Lions (5-9) had four players score in double figures led by Gus Okafor with a game-high 25 points. Okafor finished 9-for-13 from the field and was 7-for-10 from the three-point line. Keon Clergeot added 17 points to aid the Lions while Ryan Burkhardt and Jalyn Hinton had 13 and 11 points, respectively. Hinton also finished with a season-high five blocked shots.
 
The Huskies (4-6) were led by Sam Hofman with 22 points while Khristion Courseault and Jade Tse had 17 and 13 points.
 
SLU had a 27-25 lead with 6:02 left in the first half. However, the Lions caught fire from behind the three-point line as they hit five consecutive shots from long range, opening up a 45-30 halftime lead.
 
In the second half, the Lions continued to pull away as they stretched their lead to 65-45 with 13:51 remaining.
 
HBU didn't go away as it rallied to cut the Lions' lead to 85-79 with 1:50 to go. But Okafor's hot hand sealed the win as he drilled a three-pointer from the corner topped off by a steal and layup by Clergeot as the Lions picked up the victory.
 
Next up, SLU will face the winner of Thursday's 1:30 contest between UNO and McNeese Friday at 5 p.m. in Katy.
 
Fans can follow the entire three-day event as all games will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links to video and live stats will be available at the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page at LionSports.Net.
 
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. 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.