GRAMBLING, La. The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team used a 31-7 run which ended the first half and started the second to turn a seven-point deficit into a 17-point lead against Grambling State and the Lions never looked back, ending its 10-game, month-long road trip with a 75-65 win over the Tigers Monday night on the Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The Lions (5-6) had its best shooting night of the season, hitting 56.3 percent from the field while also connecting on 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc, the second-highest percentage on three-point attempts for Southeastern this season. SLU also dominated the boards, grabbing 35 rebounds while allowing the Tigers to get just 14 boards in the contest.
Grambling State (2-7) hit 46 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc, but were held to four less made field goals than Southeastern, 27-23, and one less made three-pointer, 8-7.
Sam Hines, Jr. led Southeastern in scoring, dropping in 19 points on eight-of-12 shooting, including one of two from above the arc. He also grabbed five rebounds in the contest.
Kam Burton, who got his second start of the season, hit a career-high six three-pointers which accounted for all 18 of his points in the game. He also secured five rebounds and blocked a shot.
Jakevion Buckley connected on five of his six shot attempts in the contest as he filled up the box score with 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and a pair of steals.
Brody Rowbury was four-of-five from the field and hit both of his free throw attempts to finish with 10 points. He grabbed four rebounds, dished out a pair of assists, and picked up a steal.
With the game tied at 4-4 early, Grambling opened the first bit of a gap in the score, going on a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead with 16:10 to go in the first half. GSU's largest lead of the game came with just less than 14 minutes to go in the first half as a jumper put the Tigers up 16-7.
The momentum started swinging to Southeastern on SLU's ensuing possession as
Thomas Tut stepped back and sank a three-pointer. That was followed by a lay-up and then a split of a pair of free throws by Buckley to make it a three-point game at 16-13 with 12:40 to go in the half.
Grambling was able to push its lead back up to seven points at 22-15, but that's where the big Lion run began. On Southeastern's next possession,
Jeremy Elyzee split a pair of free throws, kicking off a run of nine-straight SLU points. Elyzee capped that spurt by going two-for-two at the stripe with 7:57 left before the break, giving the Lions their first lead of the game at 24-22.
A lay-up by the Tigers slowed the spurt, but a three-pointer by Burton started a run of 10-straight SLU points. Hines, Jr. scored while being fouled, converting the free throw for the three-point play and giving Southeastern the first double-digit lead of the game at 34-24 with just less than six minutes left in the half.
Grambling stopped that run by going one-of-two at the free throw line, only to see Hines, Jr. hit a jumper to give Southeastern its largest lead of the first half at 36-25 with less than 3:30 to go before halftime.
The Tigers scored the next four points to get the SLU lead down to seven, only to see the Lions get the final four points of the period.
Jaiden Lawrence scored on a lay-up, and then Buckley and Rowbury forced a turnover at mid-court, leading to a run-out by Buckley with the clock running down. Buckley's lay-up attempt right before the horn was hit by a Grambling player after it touched the glass, causing a goaltend call and giving the Lions a 40-29 lead at the break.
The 4-0 run before halftime turned into a 10-0 run as the Lions scored the first six points of the second half. Rowbury opened the scoring in the period with a lay-up. That was followed by a put-back lay-up by Hines, Jr. and a lay-up by Elyzee which gave Southeastern a 46-29 lead two minutes into the second period, ending the 31-7 run which started with Southeastern trailing 22-15 with 10:35 left in the first half.
Grambling answered with eight of the next 10 points to cut the Lion lead down to 11 points at 48-37, and then answered another Burton three ball with one of their own to make it 51-40. However, the Lions had another run in them as a Rowbury lay-up kicked off a 7-0 SLU run, giving Southeastern its largest lead of the contest at 18 points.
Carlos Paez found Hines, Jr. underneath for a lay-up, putting the Lions up 58-40 with 9:15 left in the contest.
Grambling answered with seven-straight of its own to cut the Southeastern lead back down to 11 points. SLU answered each Tiger push with one of its own, though GSU would use a 6-0 run to cut a 66-51 SLU lead down to 66-57 with three minutes left in the contest. Over the next few minutes, the Lions and Tigers would match scores as Grambling cut the Southeastern lead down to nine points two more times, the final time at 70-61 with 1:35 left. SLU scored the next four points as a lay-up by Hines, Jr. gave the Lions a 74-63 lead with 40 seconds left, allowing Southeastern to close out the win.
The Lions complete the 10-game road trip with a 4-6 record and now return home for the first time since the season opener back on Nov. 4
th on Friday to take on Loyola-New Orleans in the Christmas Game, featuring an ugly sweater contest and a visit by Santa and Mrs. Clause.
Tip-off of Friday's game against the Wolf Pack (3-8) is set for 6 p.m. in the University Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast also available, thanks to the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, on 90.9 FM The Lion in the Hammond/Ponchatoula area and worldwide on LionSports.net/ListenLive or LionUpRadio.org, or you can listen to the game on smart devices through the Lions Gameday Experience app, the TuneIn Radio app, or the MyTuner Radio app. Live stats will also be available on 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.
