HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team makes a second-straight trip to Louisiana's capital city, this time heading to the Bluff for a contest with Southern on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., or about 30 minutes after a women's basketball game, at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
 
The game between the Lions (2-6) and Jaguars (2-6) will be live streamed on Southern's Jaguar Sports Network. Live stats will also be available through the host institution.
 
Saturday's game against Southern is the second game of four straight on the road for Southeastern which is also in the back-half of a stretch of nine games out of 10 away from the friendly confines of the Pride Roofing University Center.
 
SLU is looking to get back in the win column after a tough loss a week ago on Friday against LSU in a game where the Lions held the Tigers without a field goal over the final seven minutes of the contest, but the shots late that could've won it wouldn't fall, ultimately dropping the game by a 73-66 score.
 
Nick Caldwell, who had joined Southeastern's 1,000 career points scored club the game before, led the Lions with 18 points and eight rebounds against LSU. Roger McFarlane scored 12 points and matched Caldwell's team-high with eight boards as well in the game against the Tigers. Roscoe Eastmond filled up the stat sheet in that contest, scoring 10 points, dished out five assists, grabbed three rebounds, and had a steal.
 
McFarlane continues to be SLU's top scorer and rebounder through eight games this season, averaging 14.6 points and 6.3 boards on this year. He hits 40.8% of his shots, including 34.9% from above the three-point arc. Caldwell, who is expected to play in his 130^th career game on Saturday which is just two off the SLU career games played record, averaged just more than 20 points in the two games last week. That pushed his scoring average on the season to 12.3 points per game as he hits 52.1% of his shots and 36.8% from three while grabbing five rebounds a contest. Eastmond leads the team in assists, averaging 4.6 dimes per contest while he and Avery Wilson are battling for the title of team's top thief with Wilson at 11 steals and Eastmond at 10 currently on the season.
 
Southeastern averages 72.9 points per game this season on 42.9% shooting, including 33.3% from above the three-point arc. SLU's opponents score 76.8 points per game, connecting on 46% of the shots taken against the Lions, including 32.4% from long range.
 
The game against Southeastern will mark Southern's official home opener as the Jaguars have been on the road exclusively to start the season, having taken on four ranked teams during the road trip. Southern's last game made headlines as the Jaguars went to Starkville, Miss. and used a 15-2 run over the game's final six minutes to overcome a 12-point second half deficit and stun #21/#22 Mississippi State, 60-59, on Sunday.
 
Tai'Reon Joseph scored 27 points in the win over the Bulldogs while also grabbing six rebounds, getting three steals, had an assist, and even blocked Mississippi State's final shot attempt of the game to secure the upset. Brandon Davis scored five of his 12 points during the deciding run, including the game-winning lay-up with less than 30 seconds left in the contest.
 
Joseph is Southern's top scorer on the season, averaging 19 points per game on 43.1% shooting, including 22.6% from three. He also grabs 3.3 rebounds, dishes out 1.6 assists, and gets 1.6 steals per game. Davis is the only other Jaguar currently teetering on getting into double-digits in scoring average as he puts in 9.5 points per contest while hitting 41.3% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc. He's also the team's top rebounder at 3.6 boards per contest.
 
Southern averages 66.8 points per game on 42.3% shooting as a team and 31.1% from long range. Jaguar opponents score 84.4 points per game, hit 51.2% of their shots overall and 32.8% from outside.
 
This will be the 38^th all-time meeting between Southeastern and Southern with the head-to-head separated by just one game as SLU leads the series 19-18. McFarlane went off for SLU in the last meeting between the two, scoring 20 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out four assists, and had a steal as the Lions defeated the Jaguars 80-62 on Dec. 21, 2022 at the Pride Roofing University Center.
 
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.