HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team ends the 2023 calendar year and non-conference play on Saturday, welcoming Loyola-New Orleans to Hammond, American for a mid-afternoon battle at the Pride Roofing University Center.
 
Saturday's game between the Lions (4-8) and Wolf Pack (4-8) tips off at 2:00 p.m. and will be live streamed on ESPN+. The game can also be heard thanks to the Southeastern Sports Radio Network on 90.9 FM The Lion in the Hammond/Ponchatoula area and worldwide at LionSports.net/ListenLive or LionUpRadio.org or on smart devices through the Lions Gameday Experience app, the TuneIn Radio app, or the MyTuner Radio app. Live stats will also be available through LionSports.net.
 
Southeastern will be looking to finish the non-conference portion of the 2023-24 schedule with an undefeated home record as a win in Saturday's match-up would make the Lions 4-0 at home with only Southland Conference games remaining on the season. A win Saturday would also extend SLU's first win streak of the season out to three games, that after the Lions survived a last second scare in their last contest, a 48-47 victory over Grambling State the Wednesday before Christmas.
 
Roger McFarlane's fadeaway jumper with :14.6 remaining gave the Lions the decisive points while a defensive stand resulted in a missed floater at the buzzer to secure the win over the Tigers. McFarlane finished the game with team highs in both points, 13, and rebounds, 9, putting him just a rebound shy of his second double-double of the season.
 
Brody Rowbury came alive in the second half of the win over Grambling, scoring all 10 of his points in the contest during the final 20 minutes as he hit four of his five shot attempts in the game and sank a couple of free throws as well. He also grabbed six rebounds and had an assist.
 
Nick Caldwell, on the night where he suited up for his 133^rd career game which gave him the most appearances by a single player for SLU in program history, came just one point and two rebounds shy of a double-double as he finished with nine points and eight rebounds while also getting three steals, two assists, and blocked a shot.
 
Roscoe Eastmond had one of his better nights as a distributor, gathering six assists on the night while adding in six points in the win.
 
McFarlane continues to lead Southeastern in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.4 points and 6.3 boards a game. He's hitting 40.7% from the field and 32.8% from above the three-point arc. Caldwell sits behind McFarlane in both categories, scoring 13.1 points and grabbing 5.8 rebounds a game, hitting 52.7% of his shot attempts, including 41.9% from three.
 
Eastmond runs the offense to a team-high average of 4.2 assists per contest while averaging 6.6 points per game.
 
The Lions average 66.3 points per game, hitting 41.3% from the field as a team, including 31.8% from above the three-point arc. SLU's opponents average 72.8 points per game while scoring on 44.7% of shot attempts, including 32.4% from long range.
 
Loyola comes into Saturday's contest looking for momentum as this game will be an exhibition for the Wolf Pack and will not count to its record. Loyola enters the game having lost four of its last five contests, going 1-2 in Southern States Athletic Conference contests during that span. Following this game, the Wolf Pack remains in SSAC play for the remainder of the season.
 
The Wolf Pack dropped its last contest, a 96-84 decision on the road in SSAC action to Stillman College. Loyola hit 50% of its shots in the contest against the Tigers, but gave up 56.1% shooting defensively in the loss while also putting Stillman on the line, which led to a 10-point disparity on the scoreboard from the charity stripe.
 
Braelee Albert came off the bench to lead Loyola in both scoring and rebounding in the loss at Stillman, totaling 15 points and six rebounds in the contest. Alex Hammond finished the night in Alabama with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Hammond hit six of his 13 shot attempts, including one of two from long range. Milan Mejia, one of four players remaining from Loyola's national championship-winning team from two seasons ago, finished with 11 points while matching Albert's six rebounds for team-high honors. Mejia also secured two steals, an assist, and blocked a shot.
 
Hammond is Loyola's top scorer on the year, averaging 15.3 points per game while hitting 48.6% from the field and 44.1% from above the arc. He also grabs 4.7 rebounds a contest.
 
Mejia averages 12.4 points per game on the season, hitting 40% from the field and 36.3% from three while grabbing 4.3 rebounds a game.
 
Albert scores nine points each time out while leading Loyola on the glass by grabbing 5.7 rebounds a contest.
 
Kameron Johnson runs the Wolf Pack offense, averaging a team-leading 3.5 assists per game while scoring 6.1 points per contest.
 
Loyola averages 68.3 points per game and connects on 40.7% of its shot attempts, including 33.6% from above the three-point arc. Wolf Pack opponents currently average 70.2 points per game, connecting on 43.9% of their field goal attempts and 30.4% from above the arc.
 
This will be the 29^th all-time meeting between SLU and Loyola with the Lions leading the series between the two teams 19-9. Southeastern has won 13 straight over the Wolf Pack dating back to an 80-78 win in Feb. 1967.
 
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.