HAMMOND, La. – On a day that saw the Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball program honor many of the program's all-time greats for Alumni Day, current Lion star Sam Hines Jr. added his own page to the SLU hardwood history books.
Hines Jr. netted a three-point field goal from the left wing at the buzzer to give Southeastern (17-9, 11-4 SLC) an 84-81 overtime victory over Southland Conference rival Nicholls (15-11, 9-6 SLC) Saturday afternoon in the University Center.
Hines Jr.'s game-winner helped Southeastern maintain second place in the Southland standings heading into Monday's visit by reigning league champion and current SLC leader McNeese (20-6, 14-1 SLC).
Hines Jr. led SLU with 25 points to help the Lions win their fifth straight contest and notch their 11
th victory in their last 12 games. His last second's heroics capped the wildest finish of the 2024-25 campaign.
After a furious Lion rally forced overtime, Southeastern controlled much of the final period. A
Kam Burton slam gave SLU a comfortable 81-75 lead with just under 30 seconds left in the extra period.
But the gritty Colonels, who played just seven players in Saturday's overtime contest, wouldn't just roll over in the final seconds. After Burton's slam, Rob Brown III, who led all scorers with 28 points, drew a foul on a three-point field goal try and sank all three free throws to pull Nicholls within, 81-78, with 14.8 seconds on the clock.
After Colonel pressure forced a Southeastern turnover, Brown III got free and banked in a long three from the left side to knot the score with four seconds left. After a Lion timeout, Hines Jr. took the inbound pass near midcourt, accelerated towards the hoop and pulled up for the game-winner as the first overtime expired.
That the Lions would even be able to force overtime seemed unlikely for the majority of the second half. Nicholls led by as many as 11 and held a 71-64 lead after a trey by Jalen West Jr. with 2:39 left.
While Hines Jr. was the hero in overtime, it was reigning SLC Player of the Week
Jakevion Buckley who was clutch down the stretch in regulation. Buckley, who finished with 23 points in his third straight 20-plus point scoring performance, answered West Jr.'s three with a triple of his own to cut the lead to 71-67 with 2:20 left.
The team's traded empty possessions, before West Jr. drew a foul and made one of two free throws to extend the lead to 72-67 with 1:14 remaining. The Lions went to Buckley again and he connected on another three with just over a minute remaining to pull SLU within, 72-70.
On the next trip, Brown III missed a jumper and Buckley snagged the rebound. The Shelbyville, Texas raced down the court, slashed to the hoop and was fouled with 9.2 seconds left.
Buckley calmly sank both free throws, then Southeastern forced a miss by West Jr. to send the game to overtime, where Hines Jr. won it for the Lions in dramatic fashion.
Hines Jr. and Buckley were two of five Lions to finish in double figures, along with
Brody Rowbury (12 points),
Kam Burton (10 points) and
Jeremy Elyzee (10 points). Elyzee also finished with a season-high 13 rebounds on the way to his third double-double of the season, while Buckley dished out a team-high five assists.
Nicholls' Brown III was joined in double figures by teammates West Jr. (16 points), Trae English (12 points) and Jaylen Searles (10 points). English narrowly missed a double-double with a game-high eight assists, while Sincere Malone paced the Colonels with 11 rebounds.
Monday's showdown with McNeese tips off Monday at 6 p.m. in the University Center. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on 90.9 The Lion. Streaming audio of 90.9 The Lion broadcasts is available online, at
www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or
www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday and MyTuner Radio.
Monday is Greek Night, as all Southeastern fraternity and sororities are encouraged to attend the Lions-Cowboys tilt.
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 X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
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.
