THIBODAUX, La. The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team got 13-point outings from Sam Hines, Jr., Jakevion Buckley, and Brody Rowbury, including a double-double from Hines, Jr., but the Lions dropped their Southland Conference opener in a tight battle with the Nicholls Colonels, 67-64, Thursday night at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium.
 
Neither team led by more than seven points in the contest as Southeastern (4-5, 0-1 SLC) and Nicholls (5-4, 1-0 SLC) traded the lead 12 times and saw the score tied five times during the contest.
 
SLU ended the contest hitting 40.7 percent of its shots, though the Lions hit were held to just 25 percent from three-point range. Southeastern turned 10 Nicholls turnovers into eight points, scored 32 points in the paint, had four second chance points, nine fast break points, and 13 points off the bench.
 
Nicholls finished the contest hitting 41.9 percent from the field, but had an even tougher time from long range, hitting just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Colonels took advantage of SLU turnovers, scoring 16 points off 16 Lion miscues while scoring 44 points in the paint, 20 points in transition, and had 17 points from the reserves.
 
Hines, Jr. picked up his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, hitting five of his nine shot attempts in the contest. He also dished out a team-high four assists in the contest.
 
Buckley's 13 points came on six-of-11 shooting, including his second-straight game with a made three-pointer. He grabbed four rebounds, doled out a pair of assists, and had a steal.
 
Rowbury got his 13 points on four-of-10 from the field while grabbing eight rebounds and had an assist as well.
 
Kam Burton had nine points while Carlos Paez added eight as both hit a pair of three-pointers in the contest.
 
Southeastern's first lead in the game came at 6-4 as Jeremy Elyzee grabbed a rebound and got it to Hines, Jr., who raced down the floor and got to the rim for a lay-up with 16 minutes remaining in the opening period.
 
With SLU leading 12-11 after a lay-up by CJ Booker, a Nicholls three-pointer sent the Colonels on a 7-0 run that opened the first hint of a gap in the score. A lay-up with 9:55 remaining in the half made the score 18-12 in favor of the Colonels before a three by Burton ended the run and cut the deficit in half on Southeastern's ensuing possession.
 
The Lions answered with the next six points as a pair of Rowbury free throws cut the deficit down to a single point at 18-17 with 8:33 to go in the period. But Nicholls again opened the gap, going on an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 26-19 with just less than four minutes left in the opening period on a lay-up.
 
SLU scored the next six points to close the gap back down to a single point as Hines, Jr. got to the rim again for another lay-up with just less than 2:30 to go before halftime. The two teams traded lay-ups down the stretch with Buckley's lay-up with a minute to go being the final points of the half and the two teams went to the break with the Colonels leading 28-27.
 
Out of the halftime break, a three-pointer by Paez gave the Lions the lead back at 30-28 not even 20 seconds into the second half. A Nicholls miss and a lay-up by Elyzee on the other end gave Southeastern its largest lead of the contest at 32-28 just more than a minute into the last 20 minutes.
 
Nicholls scored the next six to reclaim the lead, only to give the lead back to the Lions as Rowbury hit three-of-four free throws as he was sent to the line on back-to-back possessions for a 35-34 SLU lead. A Colonels lay-up was answered by a hook shot by Rowbury to give Southeastern a 37-36 lead with 15:20 remaining in the contest.
 
But that would be Southeastern's final lead of the night as Nicholls scored the next five points and would not surrender the lead again. Leading 42-41 following a Kyle Edison lay-up, the Colonels went on another five-point spurt to go up 47-41 on a dunk with 9:20 left in the game.
 
Nicholls maintained a three to six-point edge for almost the remainder of the contest. SLU would get it down to two on a lay-up by Hines, Jr. with two minutes left, but Nicholls scored the next four to get the deficit back up to six points with less than a minute to go.
 
But the Colonels couldn't put the game away at the stripe, missing several free throws which allowed the Lions to close the gap thanks to Buckley's three, a lay-up by Hines, Jr., and a pair of free throws by Hines, Jr. which made it a one-point game at 65-64 with 6.0 seconds left. Nicholls would make their ensuing free throws after a quick Lions foul, and Paez's attempt to send the game to overtime at the buzzer bounced off the rim and fell away.
 
The Lions step back out of conference for the final three games before the Christmas break. Southeastern's next trip will take the team to Lafayette for a date with Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday.
 
Tip-off of Wednesday's contest between the Lions and Ragin' Cajuns (1-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) is set for 7 p.m. in the Cajundome. It 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.
 
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.
 
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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. Read Full Article