HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team got points from 10 of the 12 Lions who saw action in Saturday's contest, and needed all of them to put away a game, though shorthanded, New Orleans Privateers, 76-68, Saturday evening at the University Center.
Southeastern (13-9, 7-4 SLC) hit better than 56 percent in the first half, including 50 percent from three, but came back down in the second half, hitting just 24 percent in the last 20 minutes, 25 percent from distance. At the end, SLU hit 40.7 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. After a tough night at the free throw line on Monday, Southeastern rebounded at the charity stripe, hitting 15-of-16 in the second half to finish the game 20-of-22 in free throw attempts, 90.9 percent.
UNO (4-18, 2-9 SLC) played just seven players, having lost several key contributors who, unexpectedly, didn't dress out. The Privateers finished the game hitting 39.1 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc. UNO also struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 54.2 percent from the charity stripe while getting two more attempts than the Lions in the contest.
While his run of games scoring 20 or more points came to an end in the game,
Sam Hines, Jr. kept his run as Southeastern's top scorer going by putting in 17 points. He was nine-of-10 at the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds to go with an assist.
Jakevion Buckley got back to his double-digit scoring ways, finishing the night with 14 points while filling up the box score with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Kyle Edison had his first game with 10 or more points since the season opener against William Carey where he scored 15 by hitting all three of his shot attempts, all of which were from beyond the three-point arc, and both of his free throw attempts for 11 points. He also grabbed two rebounds on the evening.
Southeastern started the game as it hoped, getting the first five points of the contest thanks to a
Jaiden Lawrence three-pointer and a jumper by Hines, Jr. in the paint.
But UNO, with its new line-up, started to find something that worked for it, going on a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 9-7 with 15:10 left in the opening 20 minutes.
After SLU jumped back in front at 11-9 on lay-ups by
Brody Rowbury and Buckley, the Privateers went on a 6-1 spurt to take their largest lead of the contest at 15-12 with 13:30 remaining in the first half.
That lead would not last long as
Carlos Paez answered with a three-pointer on Southeastern's ensuing possession to even the score right back up and start a 13-2 Lions run which pushed SLU to its largest lead of the period at eight points as Hines, Jr. worked his way into the paint and hit a jump shot for an eight point, 25-17, lead as the clock ticked under nine minutes left until halftime.
Over the next three-plus minutes, UNO cut down the Southeastern advantage by going on a 9-3 push to get it down to two points at 28-26 with 5:30 left in the period.
The Lions found another kick to keep the Privateers behind them on the scoreboard as a three-pointer by Edison kicked off an 8-2 Southeastern spurt which pushed the advantage back up to its highest of the half at eight points, 36-28, after
Jeremy Elyzee found
Jaiden Lawrence cutting to the rim for a dunk with 4:40 left in the half. UNO again battled back, cutting the Lion lead back to one possession at three points two more times in the period.
But Buckley made sure the Lions had the momentum at the break. He got out in transition following a Privateer turnover, scoring on a fastbreak lay-up, and then, after a UNO missed three-pointer, got a three-point shot up before the buzzer from straight-away which bounced around before falling in at the horn to give the Lions a 45-37 lead as the two teams went to the locker room.
But it was the Privateers who came out of the locker room feeling in their rhythm as UNO opened the second half on an 11-3 run to get the score tied once again at 48-48 just more than four minutes into the last 20.
A Hines, Jr. tip-back of a missed shot put the Lions back in front to stay with 15 minutes left in the contest, though pulling away from the Privateers would not come easy.
With the Lions up two, a pull-up three-pointer by
Ahmed Essahaty gave SLU a 55-50 lead with just less than 13 minutes left. That was answered by a UNO three-pointer, but a run of five-straight Lion points on a pair of Hines, Jr. free throws and another Edison three-ball pushed Southeastern's advantage back out to seven points at 60-53 with 9:10 left in the contest.
UNO scored six of the next eight points to make it a three-point game again at 62-59 with seven minutes remaining, but that would be as close as the Privateers would get for the rest of the contest. A Hines, Jr. jumper started a run of six-straight points by the Lions, opening up a nine-point edge at 68-59 with 5:30 to go after Paez hit a pair of free throws.
Southeastern answered UNO almost point-for-point over the next five minutes and then, with the clock reading under a minute to play, SLU got its largest lead of the game after Elyzee hit a pair of free throws, giving the Lions a 76-66 lead. UNO scored on a dunk at the buzzer to cap the game's scoring.
SLU now looks ahead to a game which could prove pivotal in the Southland Conference standings at season's end as Lamar comes to Hammond, America to wrap up the homestand. Monday's contest against the Cardinals (13-9, 8-3 SLC) is the only meeting this season between the two teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the University Center.
Monday's game 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 or the MyTuner Radio app. Live stats will also be available on LionSports.net.
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.
