Lions rally late falls short in 79-70 loss to SLU

HAMMOND, La. – Sam Houston State held off the Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team’s late rally to defeat SLU, 79-70, Wednesday night at the University Center.

The Lions (6-19, 3-11 Southland) had four players score in double figures led by sophomore Ty Brewer with 14 points. Freshman Byron Smith added 12 while Von Julien and Brandon Gonzalez scored 11 and 10 respectively.

The Bearkats (16-9, 9-5 Southland) were led by sophomore Zach Nutall who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while first team preseason All-Southland selection Kai Mitchell added 15.

Despite the loss, the Lions fought to the end as they trimmed a 14-point lead down to three. SLU trailed, 61-47, with 11:55 to go but refused to give up as they stayed within striking distance. The Lions mounted a rally trailing, 72-61, with 5:13 to go as they went on a 9-1 run to close the gap to 73-70 with 2:08 left.

Moments later, Gonzalez got a steal off the inbounds pass and Brewer got a good look at a potential game-tying three-pointer from the top of the key with 1:40 to go. The shot was on target but hit the front iron. SLU missed their last six shots as SHSU scored the final six points of the game to secure the win.

The Bearkats finished the game 29-for-54 (53 percent) from the field including 8-for-16 from the three-point line. SLU was 23-for-55 (41 percent) and 7-for-27 from the three-point line.

The loss was the fifth straight for Southeastern while the Bearkats snapped a three-game losing streak.

Next up, the Lions will take on Nicholls (16-9, 10-4 Southland) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. on the road. The Colonels are coming off a 69-65 win over Lamar Wednesday night at home.

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.

At Hammond, LA
SAM HOUSTON ST. 79, SOUTHEASTERN LA 70
SAM HOUSTON ST. (16-9,9-5 Southland)
Zach Nutall 8-13 2-4 20; Kai Mitchell 5-6 5-6 15; RJ Smith 5-8 1-2 13; Chad Bowie 3-5 1-2 9; Cyrus Johnson 3-6 0-0 7; Dajuan Jones 1-3 4-4 6; Bubba Furlong 2-3 0-0 4; Dainan Swoope 1-4 0-0 3; Xavier Bryant 1-2 0-0 2; Mark Tikhonenko 0-1 0-0 0; Demarkus Lampley 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 29-54 13-19 79.
SOUTHEASTERN LA (6-19,3-11 Southland)
Brewer, Ty 5-12 3-4 14; Byron Smith 5-8 1-1 12; Julien, Von 3-9 5-7 11; Gonzalez, Brandon 4-10 0-0 10; LaQuan Butler 2-3 2-3 8; Caldwell, Nick 3-8 0-0 7; Diop, Pape 0-1 4-8 4; Isiah Kirby 1-3 2-3 4; Maxwell Starwood 0-0 0-0 0; Jeremiah Saunders 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 17-26 70.
Sam Houston St……………. 39 40 – 79
Southeastern La…………… 33 37 – 70
3-point goals–Sam Houston St. 8-16 (Chad Bowie 2-3; RJ Smith 2-2; Zach Nutall 2-2; Dainan Swoope 1-3; Cyrus Johnson 1-1; Demarkus Lampley 0-3; Xavier Bryant 0-1; Dajuan Jones 0-1), Southeastern La 7-27 (LaQuan Butler 2-3; Gonzalez, Brandon 2-8; Brewer, Ty 1-4; Caldwell, Nick 1-5; Byron Smith 1-4; Jeremiah Saunders 0-1; Julien, Von 0-2). Fouled out–Sam Houston St.-None, Southeastern La-None. Rebounds–Sam Houston St. 32 (Zach Nutall 11), Southeastern La 30 (Gonzalez, Brandon 8). Assists–Sam Houston St. 21 (Zach Nutall 5), Southeastern La 11 (Julien, Von 7). Total fouls–Sam Houston St. 18, Southeastern La 20. Technical fouls–Sam Houston St.-None, Southeastern La-None. A-620