HAMMMOND, La. The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team begins the Southland Conference portion of its schedule on Thursday when it travels down to Thibodaux to take on the Nicholls Colonels at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium.
 
Tip-off of Thursday's SLC opener between the Lions (4-4, 0-0 SLC) and Colonels (4-4, 0-0 SLC) is set for 6:30 p.m. and 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 through the host institution.
 
Southeastern is looking for its third-straight win after picking up its fourth all-time win over Tulane on Monday. Jakevion Buckley tied his season high with 18 points in the win over the Green Wave. Sam Hines, Jr. was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds while also adding three assists and a block. Kam Burton found the range as he hit four three-pointers on his way to 14 points off the bench in the win.
 
Hines, Jr. continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 boards a game. He hits 45.9 percent of his shots and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. He also contributes 2.8 assists per game, 1.3 steals per game, and 0.8 blocked shots per game.
 
Buckley controls the action for the Lions, leading him to averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 4.4 assists per game. He hits 45.7 percent of his shot attempts while also leading the team in steals at 2.1 a game.
 
After missing a game of action, Jeremy Elyzee picked up where he left off with an eight-point, eight rebound, two block, two steal performance against Tulane. He's now averaging 11 points per game on 56.4 percent shooting and 46.2 percent from long range. He also grabs 5.1 rebounds a game and leads the team in blocks with 1.1 a contest.
 
After hitting four threes against the Green Wave, Burton now has hit a team-leading 19 long balls this year. He averages 9.4 points a game on 43.9 percent shooting while hitting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Lions score 71.1 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting and 35.2 percent from three as a team so far this season. Southeastern's opponents average 68.3 points per game while connecting on 41.6 percent from the field but just 28.6 percent from three-point range on the year.
 
Much like SLU, Nicholls also comes into Thursday's SLC opener looking for a third-straight win. The Colonels overcame a 15-point first half deficit, scoring 20 points in a row at one point, and hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to knock off the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, 76-75, on Saturday.
 
After being held scoreless in the first half, Michael Gray, Jr. came alive in the second half, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals. Five of his six made field goals in the contest came from three-point range. For this performance, he was named the Southland Conference's Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
 
Jaylen Searles and Jamal West, Jr. both scored 15 points against the Ragin' Cajuns with West, Jr. adding nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal while Searles had four rebounds and an assist.
 
Byron Ireland ended the contest with 13 points, a team-leading three assists, and a rebound.
 
Ireland is the Colonels top scorer this season, averaging 11.7 points per game while hitting 38.2 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. He also snags 3.4 rebounds a game while dishing out 2.6 assists a game.
 
Robert Brown III puts in 10.4 points per game on 34.1 percent shooting while hitting a team-high 20 three-pointers on a 33.3 percent clip from deep. He also secures three rebounds a game and dishes out 1.4 assists per game.
 
West, Jr., the only Nicholls player who has started every game this season, averages 10.1 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting. He grabs a team-best 6.8 rebounds a game and blocks a team-high 1.9 opposing shots per game.
 
Trae English is the top distributor for the Colonels, averaging 2.9 assists per game, mostly in a reserve role.
 
Of the 12 players who have played so far this season for Nicholls, 10 have started at least two games. Nicholls averages 71.3 points per game while hitting 41.1 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from three. The Colonels allow their opponents to score 66.3 points per game and hit 38.4 percent from the field while giving up 26.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
 
Following the game against Nicholls, the Lions start their final stretch of non-conference games next Wednesday in Lafayette against Louisiana-Lafayette.
 
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.