HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team will travel for a two-game road stretch against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV in week 11 of Southland Conference action.

The Lions (5-12, 2-6 SLC) will take a trip to South Texas to open the week against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-8, 5-3 SLC) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before facing UTRGV (6-11, 2-6 SLC) Monday at 6:30 p.m. Both matchups will be televised on ESPN+ and live stats, provided by the hosts, can be accessed on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. The game can also be heard on KSLU 90.9 The Lion, online at either www.LionSports.net/listenlive or www.LionUpRadio.org, via the following apps – Lions Gameday Experience, Live365, iHeart, Audacy, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio - or on Alexa speakers (skill must be enabled first). All you have to say is, "Alexa, play K.S.L.U."

SLU suffered two losses in week 10 of league play, falling 73-61 against McNeese and 79-76 to New Orleans. Southeastern's scrappy defense worked to force the upset bid led by Kyle Edison (13 points), but fell short on the road against the Cowboys. The Lions returned in a hard fought battle in an effort to defend their home court led by fifth-year senior Isaiah Gaines (18 points) with 11 rebounds to record his first double-double with the green and gold.

Jalen Forrest followed up with 12 points to provide a spark off the bench, but Southeastern could not hold on down the stretch as New Orleans connected on a buzzer beater to secure the win. SLU forced the Privateers into 19 turnovers while gaining 19 second chance points, but struggled from the free throw line.

The Lions will seek to bounce back on the road led by Jeremy Elyzee averaging 11.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Gaines follows up with 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds to lead the team on the glass alongside SLU's other key contributors in Forrest (7.9 ppg), Peter Hemschemeier (7.7 ppg), Makhi Myles (7.2  ppg) and Pickett (5.5 ppg). Southeastern ranks fourth in the conference in steals (8.06) and sixth in turnover margin (+1.53) as its forced opponents into 13.8 turnovers per game.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi finished 1-1 in week 10 of conference play, falling 79-78 against Northwestern State before securing a 61-50 victory over East Texas A&M on the road. The Islanders posted 13 second chance points and 12 points off turnovers as Nick Shogbonyo led the charge with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Mason Gibson followed up with 10 points alongside Sheldon Williams with nine points and eight rebounds in the victory.

The Islanders are led by Williams averaging 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game with ten games in double figures this season. The senior leads the team in points, field goals and minutes played this season while Gibson and Shogbonyo contribute 10.9 points apiece as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's other major contributors. The Islanders lead the conference in rebounding defense (33.18) and defensive rebound percentage (74.3) while also ranking second in rebounding offense (38.88) and rebounding margin (+5.71).

UTRGV closed out the past week 0-2 after suffering a 77-69 loss against East Texas A&M and 64-63 versus Northwestern State. The Vaqueros shot 45.3 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from the three-point line and 100.0 percent from the charity stripe. Junior forward Filip Brankovic finished with 19 points, shooting 6-10 from the field, 3-6 from behind the arc and 4-4 from the line. Koree Cotton chipped in 14 points with four rebounds while Jaylen Washington dished out seven assists.

Brankovic leads the UTRGV with 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Indjija, Serbia native has completed seven consecutive games in double-digits with a season high 29 points against UIW. Cotton follows up averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists alongside the Vaqueros other key contributors in Marvin McGhee III (9.2 ppg), Kye Dickson (9.2 ppg) and Washington (8.2 ppg). UTRGV ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (45.8), three-point field goal percentage (37.1) and assists (16.41). Washington leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (3.05) while Brankovic stands second in field goal percentage (51.9).

Concluding Monday's matchup, Southeastern will return to Hammond, America for two home games against Nicholls Saturday, Jan. 24 and Monday, Jan. 26 versus McNeese. Both matchups 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.