Game 27 | Southeastern (17-10, 11-5 SLC) vs. East Texas A&M (3-24, 1-15 SLC)
Feb. 22, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. | University Center (7,500) | Hammond, La.
Series History: SLU leads, 5-1
Last Meeting: SLU 76, ETAMU 68 (1/20/25 – Commerce, Texas)
Television: ESPN+
 
Game 28 | Southeastern (17-10, 11-5 SLC) vs. Northwestern State (11-15, 8-8 SLC)
Feb. 24, 2025 | 6 p.m. | University Center (7,500) | Hammond, La.
Series History: NSU leads, 90-59
Last Meeting: SLU 65, NSU 64 (1/22/25 – Natchitoches, La.)
Television: ESPN+
Radio: 90.9 FM The Lion
 
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team will close out its 2024-25 regular season home schedule with a pair of Southland Conference contests in the University Center.
 
Southeastern (17-10, 11-5 SLC) hosts East Texas A&M (3-24, 1-15 SLC) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Immediately following the women's basketball team's 1 p.m. contest to open Saturday's doubleheader, SLU will honor the 2024-25 senior class of manager Jamar Gant, Ryan Elzy, Max Brackmann, Carlos Paez, Jakevion Buckley and Sam Hines Jr. in a pregame Senior Day ceremony. North Oaks Health System is the game sponsor for Saturday's doubleheader.
 
The Lions will then close their home slate Monday, welcoming Northwestern State (11-15, 8-8 SLC) for a 6 p.m. contest. Monday will be Jersey Night in the University Center, as fans are encouraged to wear their favorite athletes' jersey.
 
Both of this week's games can be seen on ESPN+ and Monday's game 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.
 
Southeastern has already clinched a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament, scheduled for March 9-12 at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles. The Lions are currently in third place in the league standings. The No. 3 and 4 seeds receive a bye into the quarterfinals, while the top two seeds will automatically advance all the way to the semifinals. SLU can finish anywhere from second to seventh depending on the results of the regular season's final four games.
 
The Lions had their five-game winning streak snapped in an 88-82 loss to Southland leader McNeese Monday. Southeastern lost despite hitting a season-high 13 three-point field goals and featuring five players in double figures. Buckley led SLU with 25 points, followed by Jeremy Elyzee (14 points), Jaiden Lawrence (14 points), Kyle Edison (11 points) and Hines Jr. (10 points).
 
Hines Jr. (16.6 ppg) and Buckley (14.9 ppg) are the top two scorers for Southeastern, ranking second and fourth in the Southland, respectively. Elyzee (9.9 ppg), Brody Rowbury (7.6 ppg) and Kam Burton (7.2 ppg) round out the top five scorers for the Lions.
 
Hines is also eighth in the SLC with a team-high 6.3 rebounds per contest. Rowbury is the other top performer on the boards, ranking 12^th on the Southland leaderboard.
 
Buckley is fourth in the conference with 4.1 assists per game. The Lions are averaging 73.2 points per contest entering the final two home games of the season.
 
Defensively, SLU is allowing 69.6 points per contest and forcing 13.0 turnovers per outing. Buckley leads the league with 1.9 steals per contest, while Elyzee and Hines Jr. top the team with 18 and 16 blocked shots, respectively.
 
In Saturday's Battle of the Lions, Southeastern will be welcoming an East Texas A&M squad that has been eliminated from postseason contention and looking to snap a five-game losing skid.
 
In its last outing, ETAMU dropped a hard-fought 76-74 decision to Stephen F. Austin Monday. Tay Mosher led the Lions with 17 points and was joined in double figures by teammates TJ Thomas (11 points), KC Ugwuakazi (10 points), Evan Phelps (10 points) and Scooter Williams Jr. (10 points).
 
East Texas A&M enters Saturday's contest averaging 63.9 points per game. Williams Jr. paces the squad with 11.6 points per game and is joined among the team's top five scorers by Khaliq Abdul-Matteen (8.3 ppg), Demarco Bethea (6.8 ppg), Yusef Smith (6.1 ppg), Josh Taylor (5.4 ppg) and Mosher (5.4 ppg). Thomas leads the team with 2.6 assists per game.
 
East Texas A&M enters Saturday's game with a minus-5.7 rebounding margin. Taylor is averaging a team-high 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
Opponents are averaging 75.3 points and committing 13.7 turnovers per contest versus ETAMU. Phelps leads the Lions with 1.4 steals per game, while Taylor has blocked a season-high 32 shots.
 
Southeastern leads the all-time series versus East Texas A&M, 5-1. SLU will be looking to complete the season sweep after earning a 76-68 victory in Commerce Jan. 20.
 
Hines Jr. led Southeastern with 23 points in the win, while Buckley (19 points) and Rowbury (17 points, 10 rebounds) were the other top contributors for SLU. Phelps and Williams Jr. shared team-high honors with 13 points in the loss.
 
Northwestern State has lost three of its last four games heading into Saturday's contest at New Orleans. The Demons dropped a 75-65 decision at home to Lamar Monday. Micah Thomas scored 16 points in the loss, while Willie Williams and Addison Patterson chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
NSU is currently averaging 66.8 points per game. Patterson (13.3 ppg), Thomas (11.1 ppg), Jon Sanders II (9.2 ppg), Love Bettis (7.0 ppg) and Williams (6.5 ppg) are the top scorers for the Demons. Patterson averages 2.7 assists per game to lead Northwestern State.
 
NSU currently has a plus-1.0 rebounding margin heading into Saturday's contest with the Privateers. Williams is third in the Southland Conference with a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.
 
Northwestern State is yielding 69.6 points per contest and forcing 11.9 turnovers per game. Patterson has a team-high 1.4 steals per game, while Jerald Colonel leads the Southland with 57 blocked shots.
 
NSU leads the all-time series between the two in-state rivals, 90-59. SLU is searching to complete the sweep of the season series, having earned a dramatic 65-64 win in Natchitoches Jan. 18. Hines Jr. hit the eventual game-winner with 8.5 seconds remaining.
 
In the win over the Demons, Buckley dropped in 19 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, while Hines Jr. finished with 15 points, two blocked shots and two steals. Patterson led NSU with 16 points, while Thomas added 13 in the loss. Williams fell just short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Following the final two home games of the season, SLU will open its final two-game road swing with a 4:30 p.m. contest at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi March 1. The game will be televised 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 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.