HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team will set out for a two-game road stretch against Northwestern State and East Texas A&M in the latter half of Southland Conference play. 

Southeastern (8-17, 5-11 SLC) will begin the week in Natchitoches, La. versus Northwestern State (8,-17, 5-11 SLC) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before facing East Texas A&M (10-16, 5-11 SLC) Monday at 1 p.m. can be accessed on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. Monday's game against East Texas A&M 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 defended its home court, closing out week 14 of league action 2-0 against HCU and UIW in the University Center. Southeastern secured a two-game winning streak with a 55-47 win over the Huskies before defeating UIW 74-62 to end the home stretch. In the green and gold's most recent victory over the Cardinals, two Lions finished in double-figures led by Makhi Myles, tying his season-high 20 points with three rebounds.

Myles shot 7-9 from the field, 3-4 from the three-point line and 3-3 from the free throw line for a standout performance while Jaiden Lawrence followed up with 17 points and three rebounds. Lawrence finished 6-10 from the field with a season-high four made three-pointers against UIW to fuel a run of momentum for the hosts. Isaiah Gaines (seven points) led Southeastern on the glass with nine rebounds alongside CJ Booker dishing out five assists as the prime facilitator in the matchup.

The Lions will seek to compound their winning streak on the road as the battle for a SLC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament appearance continues led by Jeremy Elyzee and Gaines tied with 10.6 points per game. Elyzee also averages 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while Gaines leads the team on the boards with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Myles (8.3 ppg), Hemschemeier (7.2 ppg) and Forrest (7.2 ppg) are SLU's other major contributors this season as the team ranks fifth in the conference in scoring defense (69.20) and turnover margin (+0.32).

Northwestern State split the last week 1-1, falling 52-48 against East Texas A&M before snapping a seven-game losing streak versus Lamar. The Demons defeated the Cardinals down the stretch 70-68 led by Micah Thomas and Willie Williams with 14 points apiece. Williams claimed a double-double with 10 rebounds as CJ Larry followed up with 11 points, four rebounds and dished out six assists to lead the team.

The Demons are led by Thomas averaging 16.6 points, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from the three-point line and 91.7 percent from the free throw line. Miles is another key factor for NSU contributing 10.3 points and 2.2 rebounds while finishing 44.3 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from behind the arc and 72.0 percent from the stripe. Williams is also a major contributor for the Demons, averaging 9.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Northwestern State ranks fourth in the conference in free throw percentage (73.7) and seventh in steals (7.88).

East Texas A&M finished 1-1 in week 14 of conference play, suffering a 74-70 loss against Stephen F. Austin after gaining a 52-48 victory over Northwestern State. In their most recent matchup, Gianni Hunt dropped 28 points with three rebounds and two assists, shooting 8-12 from the field, 5-8 from behind the arc and 7-7 from the free throw line. Ronnie Harrison followed up with 15 points and nine rebounds while Damian Garcia and Noah Pagotto followed up with 11 points apiece.

Harrison leads the Lions averaging 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Garcia follows up with 11.0 points and 2.2 rebounds alongside Hunt (10.6 ppg) and Pagotto (9.3 ppg) as East Texas A&M's other key contributors this season. The Lions hold fourth in the league in three-point field goals made (8.77) while Harrison ranks fourth in field goal percentage (48.4) and Hunt stands second in assists (4.7 apg).

Concluding Monday's matchup, SLU will return to Hammond, America as UTRGV and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi visit the University Center. Southeastern hosts the Vaqueros Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3:30 p.m. for Senior Day before closing out the week against the Islanders Monday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. Both games 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 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.