HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team will suit up for its final two-game home stretch of the season against UTRGV and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

SLU (8-19, 5-13 SLC) will host UTRGV (15-12, 11-7 SLC) in a rematch Saturday at 3:30 p.m. before Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (14-13, 10-8 SLC) visits the University Center Sunday at 6 p.m. Both contests will be televised on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed on the men's basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net. Southeastern's Southland Conference week 16 matchups 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."

The Lions finished 0-2 in the previous week of league action on the road, suffering a 69-66 loss against Northwestern State and 70-53 loss versus East Texas A&M. Southeastern snapped its two-game winning streak against the Demons, despite Jalen Forrest's season high 26-point performance. Forrest returned against East Texas A&M to lead the green and gold with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals alongside Jeremy Elyzee with 11 points and two assists.

Southeastern will look to bounce back at home in the latter stretch of conference play led by Elyzee and fifth-year senior Isaiah Gaines averaging 10.6 points per game apiece. Gaines also leads the team on the glass while protecting the rim with 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Makhi Myles (8.1 ppg), Forrest (8.1 ppg) and Peter Hemschemier (6.7 ppg) are SLU's other major contributors this season as the team ranks fifth in the conference in scoring defense (69.20), steals (7.07) and turnover margin (+0.11).

UTRGV closed out week 15 of league play 1-1, falling 66-57 versus Stephen F. Austin before bouncing back with a 70-65 victory over Lamar at home. In their most recent matchup, the Vaqueros gained 26 paint points, 20 bench points and 10 second chance points against the Cardinals. Filip Brankovic led the team with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks while Koree Cotton followed up with 15 points and seven rebounds. Julien Gomez chipped in seven points with three assists alongside Jaylen Washington (six points) dished out eight assists to lead UTRGV.

Cotton leads the Vaqueros with 13.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Brankovic follows up, averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists while securing six consecutive games in double-figures. UTRGV also relies on its other key contributors in Marvin McGhee III (10.4 ppg), Washington (9.7 ppg) and Kye Dickinson (9.2 ppg). UTRGV ranks second in the league in free throw percentage (75.4) and field goal percentage (46.7) while standing third in scoring offense (75.48), scoring margin (+6.07) and field goal percentage defense (41.4). Washington leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (3.27) while Brankovic stands fourth in field goal percentage (51.6).

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi claimed a 76-63 victory over Lamar before falling 78-68 versus Stephen F. Austin at home. The Islanders posted 36 points in the paint and 11 points off turnovers as Nick Shogboyno led the team with 14 points, shooting 5-9 from the field and 3-5 from the three-point line. Sheldon Williams chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds  alongside D'Avian Houston added 10 points. 

The Islanders will seek to regain their position in the win column led by Williams, averaging 11.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season. The Atmore, Ala. native is shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from behind the arc for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Shobboyno closely follows with 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Mason Gibson contributes 10.2 points while Houston dishes 2.7 assists per game to lead the team. The Islanders rank second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.3) and third in scoring defense (68.33) and rebounding defense (32.93).

Fans are encouraged to arrive early to Saturday's matchup versus UTRGV as we honor the six seniors on Senior day and  thank them for their time here in Hammond, America. The first 150 students will receive free T-shirts in support of Lion Basketball as we look to pack the University Center Monday for Southeastern's final home game of the 2026 season. 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.