Lions overwhelm Blazers on Caldwell’s career night

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team got a career performance out of Nick Caldwell, who set a new personal best for points in a game while picking up his first double-double in almost two years as the Lions blew past the Belhaven Blazers 107-71 Wednesday night at the University Center.

The Lions never trailed in the contest as Southeastern scored the game’s first six points on baskets by Boogie Anderson, Caldwell, and Roger McFarlane. SLU quickly got it to double digits as a trio of Christian Agnew free throws gave the Lions a 13-2 lead just less than six minutes into the game. Belhaven had its one answer on the night, going on a 9-2 run to cut the SLU lead down to four at 15-11with just less than 12 minutes left before halftime.

But the game would soon get out of hand. With Southeastern leading 18-13 with 10:30 left before halftime, a three-pointer by Matthew Strange kicked off a 33-2 SLU run which lasted just more than seven minutes long and was capped by a Mehdi Pissis long ball that gave the Lions a 51-15 lead with just more than three minutes left before halftime. A tip-in by Agnew right at the buzzer made it a 32-point Lion lead, 57-25, at the break.

SLU continued to open it up in the second half, extending the lead over 40 points for the first time on an Alec Woodard three which made the score 68-27 less than three minutes into the final 20. The lead hit its peak with 10:40 left in the game as Strange got ahead of the Blazer defense following a steal and got a lay-up for an 88-40 Southeastern lead. The Blazers had one more run in them, cutting that lead down to 31 at 93-62 with just more than four minutes left in the game before the Lions extended it back out to 40 again as another Mehdi Pissis three made it 102-62 as SLU cruised to the win, hitting the century mark for the first time since a 101-93 win over Nicholls on Jan. 22, 2022.

Caldwell picked up his first double-double since a 17 point, 10 rebound performance against New Orleans on Jan. 30, 2021 by scoring a career high 23 points with 11 rebounds in the win over Belhaven. He hit 11 of the 13 shots he attempted in the win, including hitting on his lone shot from three-point range, and was credited with both of the blocks SLU got as a team. He was one of five Lions who scored in double figures while all ten SLU players who played scored in the contest. McFarlane came up one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, hitting six of his eight shot attempts, including his lone attempt from deep. Mehdi Pissis hit three three-pointers on his way to 13 points along with four assists. Strange hit three three-pointers on his way to 12 points in the contest. Woodard hit four of his five shot attempts, including two of his three three-point attempts, to round out the top scorers with 10 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Roscoe Eastmond threatened his own double-double with eight points and seven assists.

SLU shot above 50% in both halves to finish the game hitting at a 55.4% clip while hitting 13 three-pointers in the game and shooting at 41.9% from above the arc. While Belhaven shot 42.9% as a team in the contest, the Lions forced the Blazers into 21 turnovers which resulted in 30 Southeastern points, spurring a 16-point advantage in points off turnovers for SLU. The Lions were also out and running, outscoring the Blazers 26-3 in fastbreak points.

The Lions (5-5, 0-0 SLC) now stare down the start of Southland Conference play in their next contest as Southeastern heads to Thibodaux for a date with Nicholls in eight days. Tip-off for the Dec. 15th game against the Colonels (3-5, 0-0 SLC) is set for 7:00 P.M. at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium.

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.

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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.