SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team suffered a 79-70 loss against UIW Tuesday afternoon in the McDermott Center.
Southeastern (4-9, 1-3 SLC) fell in a nine-point decision against UIW (7-6, 2-2 SLC) on the road to close out its last matchup of the calendar year. The Cardinals extended their two-game winning streak with sharp perimeter shooting alongside capitalizing on second chance opportunities down the stretch to defend their home court.
SLU achieved a season-high five Lions in double-figures in an effort to claim the road win led by fifth-year senior Isaiah Gaines with 15 points and five rebounds. Gaines finished 6-10 from the field and 3-5 from the free-throw line while graduate senior Ethan Pickett followed up with a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the team on the boards.
Jeremy Elyzee and Makhi Myles chipped in 12 points apiece alongside Peter Hemschemeir with 10 points to provide a spark of momentum from behind the arc. Hemschemeier closed out his fourth consecutive game in double-digits along with three rebounds and two assists. Southeastern closed the game shooting 38.5 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from the three-point line and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe.
UIW jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind hot shooting from the perimeter to attain a 16-4 lead in the opening minutes. Southeastern responded as Pickett and Elyzee fueled scoring runs with aggressive attacks around the rim. The Cardinals remained in control the majority of the half as SLU battled to cut into its early deficit while Myles stepped up off the bench for the Lions. Jordan Pyke spearheaded UIW's momentum with 26 points and six rebounds to carry the team on his shoulders. Pyke proved to cause problems for green and gold, finishing 9-12 from the field, 4-5 from the three-point line and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Southeastern weathered the storm and worked to gain the lead with 22 points in the paint and 10 points off turnovers in the first half. Tahj Staveskie (21 points) also stepped up for UIW in the first half with timely buckets to steadily answer back against SLU's scoring runs. Though the Lions brought the game within reach late in the half, UIW closed out the first half with a 39-32 advantage.
SLU opened the second half with renewed energy, cutting the deficit early out of the halftime break. UIW worked to regroup, but Southeastern maintained its momentum to tie the game at 47-47 midway through the half. Gaines battled in the paint with 10 points in the second half alone while Hemschemeier secured the hot hand dropping 13 points in the half to fuel the Lions. With balanced scoring, SLU briefly took the lead, 67-64, with multiple fast-break runs sparked by its defensive pressure from Myles with four steals.
Davion Bailey (21 points) aided UIW in answering back with consecutive three-point daggers and retake control of the game late in the second half, 71-68. Despite late buckets from Gaines and Elyzee, the Cardinals knocked down key shots and free throws down the stretch to claim the victory. UIW finished the contest shooting 41.0 percent from the field, 52.0 percent from behind the arc and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Southeastern gained the advantage in the rebounding battle over the Cardinals, 42-37, while earning 42 points in the paint, 21 fast-break points and 19 bench points.
The Lions will return to Hammond, America to host Stephen F. Austin in the University Center for a doubleheader Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Southeastern's matchup against the Lumberjacks will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
