Lions suffer de-ja-vu to Grambling, drop heartbreaker 68-67

GRAMBLING, La. – The reigning Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team had a 63-51 lead with 7:22 remaining before Grambling State rallied for a 68-67 upset win over the Lions

SLU (4-7) opened up the game on fire making nine of their first 13 shots. SLU held an early advantage 22-15 halfway through the first half.

In a battle that featured a pair of teams expected to contend for their respective conference titles, SLU and GSU battled step-for-step the remainder of the first half. The Tigers cut the lead to 23-21 SLU with eight minutes left in the first half.

The Lions retook control after senior Moses Greenwood drilled back-to-back three-pointers making it 35-27 SLU with 6:19 remaining in the half. Southeastern maintained a two-possession, 41-36, at the break led by Greenwood with 22 points in the first half.

After an offensive slugfest in the first half, Southeastern and Grambling clamped down defensively in the second half. The Lions regained a nine-point lead 48-39 early in the second half. GSU didn’t go away cutting the SLU lead to 49-47 with 12:32 remaining.

The Lions surged on a 14-4 run highlighted by a three-pointer by senior D’Angelo West to take their biggest lead of the night, 63-51, with 7:22 remaining. The Tigers didn’t go away. GSU responded with a 9-0 run to trim into a one possession game, 63-60, with 4:45 to go.

With the Lions in desperate need of a bucket, it was the dynamic duo of Greenwood and Marlain Veal to make a play. Veal penetrated and found Greenwood for the easy lay-up making it 65-60 with 3:58 left.

The Tigers (6-6) kept pushing tying the game at 66-66 with 2:09 left after two free throws by Ivy Smith. Kajon Brown was fouled with under 30 second remaining and hit one of two free throws to give SLU the 67-66 lead. GSU had a chance with nine seconds left and was bailed out with a foul with 2 seconds left. Smith hit both free throws as the Tigers rallied for the 68-67 win.

It was an unfortunate de-ja-vu for the Lions who lost in similar fashion last year at home to Grambling. SLU led the Tigers 54-34 with 13 minutes left before GSU rallied for a 68-67 win Dec. 16, 2017,

Southeastern will be back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. against Bradley (7-5) in Peoria, Illinois. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Links for live stats and play-by-play radio will be available at the 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 @SLU_Hoops and @CoachLadner on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

SEASON OF GIVING
Southeastern Louisiana Athletics, the Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs will hold a food drive throughout the months of November and December. Fans who bring one of the requested items to the University Center (game day only) or the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics will receive a voucher for a discounted ticket.

BOX SCORE

Southeastern Louisiana vs Grambling State
12/19/18 6 p.m. at Grambling, La. (Hobdy Assembly Center)

GRAMBLING STATE 68, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 67

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (4-7)
Greenwood, Moses 9-12 8-13 28; Veal, Marlain 2-9 8-11 12; Gonzalez, Brandon
2-4 3-3 9; Brown, Kajon 3-8 0-0 6; Julien, Von 2-8 0-1 4; West, D’Angelo 1-3
0-0 3; Charleston, Keith 1-5 0-0 2; Diop, Pape 1-1 0-0 2; Brewer, Ty 1-1 0-0
2; Saunders, Jeremiah 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 19-28 68.

GRAMBLING STATE (6-6)
SMITH, Ivy 3-9 11-12 17; MOSS, Prince 4-8 2-2 13; POLK-HILLIARD,Dallas 4-10
4-6 13; GASTON, Anthony 2-5 1-2 5; JOHNSON, Lasani 2-6 0-0 5; MPOYO, Axel
2-3 0-0 4; BUNCH, Travon 2-2 0-0 4; PEART, Zavier 1-4 0-1 2; JACKSON,
DeVante 0-3 0-0 0; RIBEIRO, Nigel 0-0 0-0 0; ATHIE, Shaq 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
20-50 18-23 63.
Southeastern Louisiana…….. 41 26 – 67
Grambling State…………… 36 32 – 68

3-point goals–Southeastern Louisiana 5-16 (Greenwood, Moses 2-2; Gonzalez,
Brandon 2-4; West, D’Angelo 1-2; Julien, Von 0-1; Charleston, Keith 0-1;
Brown, Kajon 0-1; Veal, Marlain 0-5), Grambling State 5-10 (MOSS, Prince
3-3; POLK-HILLIARD,Dallas 1-2; JOHNSON, Lasani 1-2; JACKSON, DeVante 0-1;
SMITH, Ivy 0-2). Fouled out–Southeastern Louisiana-None, Grambling
State-None. Rebounds–Southeastern Louisiana 41 (Greenwood, Moses 14),
Grambling State 28 (BUNCH, Travon 5). Assists–Southeastern Louisiana 10
(Veal, Marlain 5), Grambling State 10 (SMITH, Ivy 4). Total
fouls–Southeastern Louisiana 18, Grambling State 19. Technical
fouls–Southeastern Louisiana-None, Grambling State-None. A-119