Lions rally in second half for 91-86 victory over Cowboys

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team scored 57 points in the second half on its way to beating McNeese, 91-86, Thursday night at the University Center.

SLU (13-12, 5-3 Southland) shot 66 percent on 19-for-29 shooting in the second half as it improved to 7-1 at home this season. The Lions also tied a season-low with just eight turnovers.

Southeastern had four players in double figures led by Gus Okafor with a game-high 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting. The Baltimore native also snatched nine rebounds and added a steal. Jalyn Hinton was perfect from the field, finishing with 18 points on 9-for-9 shooting. Keon Clergeot also added 18 points while Joe Kasperzyk chipped with 15 to aid the Lions’ effort.

Sophomore point guard Roscoe Eastmond had a stellar game leading the Lions’ offense. The Denver University transfer had 11 assists becoming the first Lion since Marlain Veal to have 10 or more assists in a game. Veal had 10 assists in a win over Stetson back on Nov. 17, 2018. Eastmond finished Thursday’s win with four steals and just one turnover.

McNeese (9-16, 3-5 Southland) was led by Christian Shumate with 23 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Harwin Francois added 17 for the Cowboys while Jonathan Massie and Brendan Medley-Bacon had 11 and 10, respectively.

The Lions fell behind early as the Cowboys built a 40-30 lead late in the first half.

Southeastern, despite shooting 7-for-26 (26 percent) from the three-point line for the game, rallied back in the second half. With McNeese leading 48-41, the Lions went on a 19-7 run to take a 60-55 lead with 12:18 remaining.

SLU continued their second half offensive onslaught as they built an 84-73 lead with 3:19 to go. The Cowboys never got closer than five points the rest of the way as Southeastern defeated McNeese for the third straight time.

The Lions finished the game 33-for-60 (55 percent) and 18-for-25 for 72 percent from the free throw line. The Cowboys were 35-69 from the field (50.7 percent) and were 8-for-26 from three-point range.

Next up, the Lions will host HBU (8-13, 4-4 Southland) Saturday at 4 p.m. in the University Center. The teams have split this year with the Lions beating the Huskies, 90-81 back on Jan. 6 in the Southland Tip-Off. The Huskies returned the favor with a 93-80 win Feb. 5 in Houston.

Fans can watch the live broadcast of Saturday’s game on ESPN+. Live stats will be available for both games with links located at the Southeastern men’s basketball schedule page at LionSports.Net.

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.