LARAMIE, Wyo. –
Jakevion Buckley's potential game-tying three missed short at the buzzer and Southeastern Louisiana University dropped a hard-fought 64-61 decision to Wyoming in nonconference men's basketball action Friday night at Arena-Auditorium.
Friday's contest was a campus site game in the Cancun Challenge. Both SLU (2-3) and Wyoming (4-1) will head to Puerto Averturas, Mexico for the on-site contests next week at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
The narrow loss spoiled a career night off the bench for Lion sophomore sharpshooter
Kam Burton. The Houston native scored a career-high 20 points, connecting on 7-of-9 field goals, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Sam Hines, Jr. joined Burton in double figures for the Lions, finishing with 11 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. SLU, which trailed by as many as 13 in the opening half, was able to climb back in to the contest thanks in large part to a defensive effort that saw the Lions force 16 Cowboy turnovers, as Burton and Buckley shared game-high honors with three steals apiece.
Wyoming was able to hold off the Lion charge due to a 52-30 rebounding advantage. Jordan Nesbitt led the Cowboys with a double-double effort, finishing with 13 points and a game-high 15 boards. Obi Agbim was the only other Wyoming player in double figures, netting 11 points.
Southeastern shot just 27.2 percent (9-for-33) from the floor in the opening half and headed into the break facing a 36-26 deficit. However, SLU came out strong to start the second half. Consecutive three-point field goals by Burton and
Brody Rowbury, followed by a tough fadeaway jumper from the right baseline by Buckley gave the Lions their first lead, 43-41, with 11:59 left.
From that point, neither team could gain a clear advantage, as the stretch run featured four ties and four lead changes. The Lions took their final lead on a
Jeremy Elyzee free throw that gave SLU a 52-51 advantage with 4:44 left.
Wyoming took the lead for good coming out of the final media timeout, as Nesbitt hit a contested three from the left wing to put the Cowboys up, 54-52. Wyoming would eventually extend the lead to as many as five, but could never fully put the Lions away.
A three by Burton pulled SLU to within, 63-61, with 9.4 seconds remaining. After a quick Lion foul, Agbim sank one of two free throws with 8.2 ticks left. Buckley got free to potentially force overtime on the final Southeastern trip, but his try missed off the left iron.
Southeastern will play its first international regular season game Tuesday, when it takes on Gardner-Webb at 11:30 a.m. Depending on Tuesday's results, SLU will then face either Bethune-Cookman or North Dakota Wednesday. Both Lion games in Mexcio cam be seen on FloSports and can be heard on 90.9 The Lion.
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 X, follow @LionUpMBB on Instagram and like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers 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.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
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