Lions drop another heartbreaker in final second, 73-71, to UCA

HAMMOND, La. – Matthew Mondesir tipped in an offensive rebound with one second left to propel Central Arkansas to a 73-71 win over the Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at the University Center.

Southeastern (4-11, 0-2 Southland) committed 15 first half turnovers leading to a 30-20 halftime deficit putting the Lions on course for their seventh straight loss.

Senior Marlain Veal led SLU with 27 points on four three-pointers. Moses Greenwood and Brandon Gonzalez each added 15.

Central Arkansas (6-9, 1-1 Southland) was led by DeAndre Jones with 18 points. Thatch Unruh added 12.

The Lions appeared to be in deep trouble early in the second half trailing 42-26 with 15:54 remaining. SLU, however, mounted a furious comeback. Southeastern went on a 16-3 run to cut the UCA lead to 45-42 with 12:53 remaining.

SLU took the lead with 3:39 left 62-60 on a lay-up by Veal assisted by Von Julien. The Lions and Bears traded buckets over the final three minutes until Mondesir tipped in a missed layup by Jones with one second left.

“I’ve just never been a part of something like this,” said fifth-year SLU head coach Jay Ladner. “Four games lost in the final seconds, I’ve been coaching 28 years and usually most teams lose maybe one game like this a year but we’ve lost four out of five. But we have to address the real issue which is the turnovers and 15 turnovers in one half is just untenable. You have no chance when you put yourself in that spot. I was proud of the way our guys fought back in the second half but we have just got to find a way to stop putting ourselves in these spots. And when we get to crunch time, somebody has simply got to make a play and stop hoping the other team misses or makes a mistake.”

Despite the 20 turnovers, the Lions improved at the free throw line shooting 12-for-13 from the charity stripe.

The Lions will have a week off before they return to action Saturday, Jan. 12 when they host Abilene Christian at 4 p.m. at the University Center.

Saturday’s game will be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience, TuneIn Radio and RadioFX apps.
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JAY LADNER RADIO SHOW
Each Monday night at 7 p.m., beginning Jan. 7th, Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner broadcasts LIVE from Rainbow Daiquiris at 14384 West Thomas Street. Talk college hoops with Coach Ladner and host Allen Waddell, cover the finer points of each game and preview upcoming games. If you can’t join the crowd, you can submit a question at www.LionSports.net for the “Ask the Coach” segment. Inside Southeastern Basketball with Jay Ladner airs each Monday night during the Lions’ Southland Conference schedule on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network.

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
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BOX SCORE
At Hammond, La. — University Center
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 73, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 71
CENTRAL ARKANSAS (6-9, 1-1 SLC)
Jones, DeAndre 7-12 3-4 18; Unruh, Thatch 4-10 2-2 12; Mondesir, Matthew 3-4 1-2 7; Koval, Hayden 3-6 0-0 7; Bennett, Khaleem 2-5 3-5 7; Chatham, Jared 2-3 2-2 6; Kayouloud, Eddy 2-5 0-0 5 Weidenaar, Aaron 1-1 2-2 4; Shittu, SK 1-1 2-2 4; Schmit, Tanner 1-1 0-0 3; Grant, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-48 15-19 73.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (4-11, 0-2 SLC)
Veal, Marlain 7-14 9-10 27; Gonzalez, Brandon 6-12 0-0 15; Greenwood, Moses 6-10 3-3 15; Diop, Pape 2-4 0-0 4; Brewer, Ty 1-2 0-0 3; Brown, Kajon 1-3 0-0 3; Thomas, Quinton 1-3 0-0 2; Charleston, Keith 1-3 0-0 2; Julien, Von 0-3 0-0 0; Edwards, Parker 0-1 0-0 0; Saunders, Jeremiah 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 12-13 71.

Central Arkansas………….. 30 43 – 73
Southeastern Louisiana…….. 20 51 – 71

3-point goals–Central Arkansas 6-13 (Unruh, Thatch 2-6; Schmit, Tanner 1-1; Koval, Hayden 1-2; Jones, DeAndre 1-2; Kayouloud, Eddy 1-2), Southeastern Louisiana 9-32 (Veal, Marlain 4-10; Gonzalez, Brandon 3-9; Brown, Kajon 1-3; Brewer, Ty 1-1; Charleston, Keith 0-2; Julien, Von 0-2; Saunders, Jeremiah 0-1; Thomas, Quinton 0-1; Diop, Pape 0-1; Greenwood, Moses 0-1; Edwards, Parker 0-1). Fouled out—Central Arkansas-None, Southeastern Louisiana-None. Rebounds–Central Arkansas 25 (Jones, DeAndre 4; Unruh, Thatch 4), Southeastern Louisiana 31 (Charleston, Keith 8). Assists–Central Arkansas 8 (Mondesir, Matthew 3), Southeastern Louisiana 16 (Julien, Von 9). Total fouls–Central Arkansas 17, Southeastern Louisiana 17. Technical fouls–Central Arkansas-None, Southeastern Louisiana-None. A-710