NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team scored seven of the game's first eight points and never trailed as the Lions coasted to a 91-71 win over the New Orleans Privateers Saturday evening at the Senator Nat G. Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena.
Southeastern (8-8, 2-3 SLC) was consistent with its shooting, hitting 51 percent in both halves to finish at 51.5 percent overall. The Lions tied their season-high with 10 made three-pointers while hitting at a 45.5 percent clip from deep while also hitting 13 of the 16 free throw attempts the team was awarded in the contest. SLU controlled the lane, outrebounding the Privateers, 43-28, and outscoring UNO in the paint, 42-28.
UNO (2-14, 0-5 SLC) was held to 38 percent shooting in the contest and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Privateers enjoyed the advantage at the charity stripe, getting to the line 42 times, hitting 29 to hit at 69 percent in the contest from the free throw line.
Sam Hines, Jr. picked up his third double-double of the season as he proved dominant in the contest. He hit 11 of his 19 shot attempts, two-of-three from three-point range, and was six-of-eight from the free throw line to have Southeastern's first 30-point game of the season with exactly 30 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds while giving out three assists and had a block.
Jakevion Buckley added 15 points on six-of-11 shooting, including one-of-two from deep, and hit both of his free throws for 15 points. He also gave out nine assists, grabbed five rebounds, and had a steal.
Jeremy Elyzee was four-of-six on his field goal attempts and five-of-six from the free throw line to finish with 13 points. He came up with two steals, grabbed a rebound, and blocked a shot.
Ahmed Essahaty had one of his more impactful games of the season, hitting a couple threes on his way to eight points with seven rebounds, and four assists.
Kam Burton also hit two three-point field goals to finish with eight points as well.
Elyzee opened the scoring on SLU's first possession and would not give up that lead as Buckley scored on the next Lion possession to give Southeastern a 4-0 lead. SLU's lead reached double digits for the first time as Essahaty hit his first triple of the game, making it 18-8 Lions with 12:15 left before halftime.
The Privateers cut four points off of that advantage as a lay-up made it 23-17 SLU with 8:15 left, but Buckley hit a pair of free throws which started an 8-1 Southeastern run and the Lions lead would not fall below 10 points again as
Brody Rowbury's floater in the lane gave the Lions a 31-18 lead with 5:45 left in the first half.
SLU started to fully separate late in the first half as, while leading 33-22, a jumper by Buckley kicked off a 9-1 run. Essahaty capped the run with a lay-up which gave the Lions a 42-23 advantage with 2:15 left in the period. Southeastern's first 20-point lead of the game came right at the buzzer as Buckley hit a three-pointer at the horn to send the Lions into the locker room with a 47-27 advantage.
Southeastern never seemed threatened throughout the second half, until one sequence helped get the Privateers numerous points with very little time coming off the clock. A UNO three-pointer scored while a foul was whistled for players trying to get in position for a potential rebound. After review, a flagrant foul was called, awarding the Privateers two free throws and possession of the ball again. UNO made the two free throws, and then got a foul call on the ensuing possession for two more free throws, which were made, giving the Privateers a seven-point possession. UNO came up with a quick steal and lay-up for a 9-0 Privateer run in a matter of 15 seconds, cutting the Southeastern lead from 23 points all the way down to 14 points, 70-56 with 8:55 remaining.
SLU answered by scoring nine of the next 11 points to get the lead back up to 21 as Hines, Jr. got into the paint and scored, putting the Lions up 79-58 with seven minutes remaining.
UNO got as close as 17 points the rest of the way, the final time with 6:15 left and the score reading 79-62. Hines, Jr. split a pair of free throws on the ensuing Lion possession which started a 10-1 Southeastern run. Elyzee hit a pair from the charity stripe with 3:45 left, giving the Lions their largest lead of the contest at 26 points, 89-63, and SLU's lead would not fall below 20 points for the remainder of the contest.
The Lions look to get back above .500 overall and to .500 in Southland Conference play on Monday night as Southeastern travels to Nacgdoches, Texas for the first meeting with Stephen F. Austin State in five years. Tip-off of Monday's game against the Lumberjacks (8-8, 1-4 SLC) is set for 6:30 p.m. at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN+ while a radio broadcast will be 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.
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.
