HAMMOND, La. – In a matchup of the top two teams in the Southland Conference men's basketball standings, McNeese held off Southeastern Louisiana University for an 88-82 victory Monday night in the University Center.
Reigning conference champion and current league leader McNeese (12-6, 15-1 SLC) and SLU (17-10, 11-5 SLC) each had five players in doubles figures. The Cowboys shot 56.6 percent (30-for-53) from the field to hold off a Lion squad that kept in the game behind a season-high 13 three-point field goals.
Despite the loss that snapped its five-game winning streak, Southeastern clinched a spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament by virtue of UIW's 66-60 win over UTRGV Monday. With four games left, SLU is currently in third place in the league standings. The top eight teams in the standings advance to the tournament with the top two seeds receiving a double-bye into the semifinals, while the No. 3 and 4 seeds receive a bye into the quarterfinals.
Jakevion Buckley, who has won the last two Southland Players of the Week, led all scorers with 25 points for Southeastern.
Jeremy Elyzee and
Jaiden Lawrence contributed 14 points each, while Lions
Kyle Edison (11) and Sam Hines Jr. (10) were the other top scorers for SLU.
Javohn Garcia led a balanced McNeese attack with 18 points. Joe Charles posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while DJ Richards (14 points), T'Johnn Brown (13 points) and Christian Shumate (10 points) all scored in double figures.
McNeese came out on fire early on in the opening half. A put back by Bryant Selabangue gave the Cowboys a 30-13 lead with 8:51 remaining before halftime.
Southeastern closed out the half strong, however, as Elyzee connected on three three-point field goals, while Edison netted two to key a 28-14 finish to the first half that sent the Lions into the break trailing just, 44-41.
SLU's hot shooting continued into the second half. Lawrence connected on two threes and Elyzee hit his fourth trey of the game during a 13-0 run that put the Lions up, 56-49, with 14:52 remaining.
Southeastern maintained the advantage until McNeese got hot from three during a 12-5 run that saw Charles, Garcia and Brown combine to make four straight threes and give the Cowboys a 63-62 advantage with 12:18 left.
SLU would never regain the lead down the stretch, as the Cowboys would grow the lead to as many as 10 down the stretch. Southeastern would get as close as five in the final minutes, but time ultimately ran out on the Lions' bid to top McNeese in Hammond for the fourth straight time.
Southeastern will be back in action Saturday, hosting East Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Prior to the game, SLU will honor Buckley, Hines Jr.,
Carlos Paez,
Max Brackmann,
Ryan Elzy and manager Jamar Gant in a special Senior Day ceremony. North Oaks Health System will be the game sponsor for Saturday's contest.
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.
