HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team had four players score in double figures as it defeated league-leading New Orleans, 84-79, Thursday night at the University.
 
Gus Okafor led SLU (16-13, 8-4 Southland) with 21 points while Jalyn Hinton added 18 points, 14 in the second half. Keon Clergeot scored 15 while Joe Kasperzyk chipped in with 14 points.
 
The Lions continued their torrid shooting from the free throw line as they shot 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) for the game, including 12-for-12 in the second half. Southeastern is now shooting 77.8 percent as a team from the free throw line during Southland play.
 
New Orleans (16-10, 9-2 Southland) also had four players score in double figures led by Derek St. Hilaire, the conference's leading scorer, with 15 points. However, SLU held Hilaire below his season average (20.8 ppg) as he shot just 6-for-14 from the field and 0-6 from the three-point line.
 
SLU and UNO traded leads for much of the first half as the game was tied at 23-23 with 7:46 left until halftime. The Lions pushed out to a 36-31 lead at the half as Okafor scored 11 first half points.
 
The two teams stayed within one possession for much of the second half. With UNO leading 70-69 and 3:30 remaining, The Lions went on a decisive 9-0 run highlighted by two free throws from Clergeot, a three-pointer by Okafor, a tip-in lay-up by Roger McFarlane and two free throws from Hinton.
 
The Privateers cut the Lions' lead to 80-77 with 27 seconds left, but Hinton converted two free throws to seal the win for Southeastern.
 
The Lions finished the game 28-for-61 (45.9 percent) from the field and committed just nine turnovers. The Privateers were 30-for-58 (51.7 percent) but had 18 turnovers leading to 14 SLU points.
 
With the win, SLU improved to 9-1 at the University Center this season as it will look to close out the home portion of their schedule on a winning note Saturday afternoon.
 
Southeastern will take on Nicholls (19-9, 9-2 Southland) at 4 p.m. for Senior Day in the University Center. The team will honor seniors Ryan Burkhardt, Keon Clergeot, Gus Okafor and Jalyn Hinton in a pregame ceremony.
 
The Colonels have won eight in a row following their win over Northwestern State, 80-62, Thursday night. Nicholls' last loss was to SLU when the Lions defeated the Colonels, 101-93 on the road back on Jan. 22.
 
Fans can follow Saturday's game as live stats will be available at the Southeastern men's basketball schedule page located 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.
 
 
 
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