NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team picked up its first win in Nacogdoches in 20 years, ending a seven-game losing streak on Stephen F. Austin's home floor by knocking off the Lumberjacks, 66-59, Monday night at the William R. Johnson Coliseum, extending its win streak out to a season-long three games.
Prior to Monday night's win, the last time the Lions (9-8, 3-3 SLC) defeated the Lumberjacks (8-9, 1-5 SLC) on their home floor was on Feb. 19, 2005, 52-41. That Southeastern team would eventually win the Southland Conference championship and clinch the program's lone berth into the NCAA National Championship Tournament.
SLU finished the game hitting 41.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. The Lions also hit on 16 of their 22 free throw attempts, 72.7 percent. Defense was the key for Southeastern, forcing Stephen F. Austin into 21 turnovers in the contest.
SFA hit at a higher percentage than the Lions at 45.5 percent from the field, but the turnovers allowed Southeastern to take nine more shots than the Lumberjacks, 53-44, and make two more, 22-20. Both teams hit six three-pointers, but SFA connected at a 31.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Lumberjacks also struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 13 of their 23 free throw attempts, 56.5 percent.
Jakevion Buckley led the way for the Lion in the win, scoring 16 points on six-of-nine shooting. He grabbed four rebounds, had four steals, and dished out three assists.
Brody Rowbury hit four of his seven shot attempts in the contest, including a three-pointer, to finish with 13 points. He also secured four rebounds, handed out two assists, and came up with a steal.
Sam Hines, Jr., who was named the Southland Conference's Player of the Week earlier in the day, ended the night with 10 points as he hit four-of-10 from the field, including both of his three-point attempts. He grabbed three rebounds and came away with a pair of steals.
Jeremy Elyzee finished the night with eight points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
Carlos Paez scored nine points, crossing the 1,000 career points scored as a Division I basketball player milestone during the contest.
While the score was close throughout, with the largest lead in the game being just eight points, Southeastern was in control throughout, leading for more than 36 of the game's 40 minutes. Stephen F. Austin led for just 1:31 with their largest lead being just two points. The game was tied for 2:27.
Jaiden Lawrence opened the game's scoring by jumping in front of a pass for a steal and raced down the court for a lay-up a minute into the contest. SFA's lone lead of the period came with nine minutes left in it as a three-pointer gave the Lumberjacks a 13-11 lead. Rowbury scored on a floater on SLU's ensuing possession and then, after a SFA miss,
Kyle Edison dropped in a shot from deep to put the Lions back in front, where they would stay for the remainder of the period.
Southeastern's largest lead of the first half came with 3:15 left before halftime as Buckley hit a pair of free throws to put SLU up 26-20. That advantage would be matched as, after three straight Lumberjack points, Rowbury stepped into a three-pointer and knocked it down which gave the Lions a 29-23 lead with 2:40 left in the first half. A pair of Rowbury free throws with 30 seconds left in the half ended the period's scoring as the Lions took a 31-26 lead into the locker room.
Buckley and Lawrence both split a pair of free throws to kick off the second half scoring, giving Southeastern a new largest lead up to that point at 33-26 a minute into the second half, but the Lions were cold to start the last 20 minutes and the Lumberjacks took advantage, going on a 13-4 run to reclaim the lead at 39-37 with 14:40 remaining.
Over the next few minutes, the score was evened up twice and the lead swapped hands three times. Trailing 43-42, Elyzee was fouled and converted a pair of free throws, providing the final tie and lead change of the contest as Southeastern embarked on a 7-0 run to go back up six points with a lay-up by
Ahmed Essahaty making it 49-43 SLU with 9:10 left in the game.
SLU's largest lead of the game came with 3:25 left when Paez drained a three-pointer to cap a 6-1 Lion spurt as Southeastern went up 59-51. SFA got as close as three points the rest of the way with a one-of-two trip to the free throw line by the Lumberjacks cutting the SLU lead down to 60-57 with just 1:05 left. A floater by Buckley in the lane on Southeastern's ensuing possession helped keep the advantage, and free throws down the stretch closed out the win as the Lions ended the game on a 6-2 run.
The Lions have won three-straight games for the first time this season, getting back above .500 in their overall record for the first time since the first game of the season while fighting back to the .500 mark in SLC play after an 0-3 start.
Southeastern returns to action Saturday for the third of four-straight games away from Hammond, America as the Lions head to Natchitoches to take on Northwestern State. Tip-off of Saturday's contest against the Demons (7-9, 4-2 SLC) is set for 3:30 p.m., or about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game, at Prather Coliseum.
Saturday's game at NSU 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.
