Offense explodes for 92 points in Southeastern’s shootout win over McNeese

Offense Explodes for 92 Points in Shootout Win Over McNeese

LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team had five players score in double figures as they outlasted McNeese, 92-88, Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum.

The Lions (4-10, 2-3 Southland) were led by junior Gus Okafor. The Baltimore, Maryland native scored a career-high 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Senior Keon Clergeot scored 22 points, including 16 in the second half. Sophomore Nick Caldwell scored 12 points, while Isiah Kirby and Joe Kasperzyk each had 10 points.

“Gus was able to make some shots from the outside and make some big defensive plays late,” said second-year SLU head basketball coach David Kiefer. “He made some perimeter shots for us as well and that’s really tough to guard when we have guys like Keon, Isiah and Joe who can drive to the basket.”

The Cowboys (6-8, 0-5 Southland) also had five in double figures led by A.J Lawson with 21 points and 12 assists and seven rebounds. Carlos Rosario added 19 while Dru Kuxhausen, Braelon Bush and Keyshawn Feazell had 16, 14 and 10 respectively.

Southeastern fell behind by a dozen midway through the first half, 24-12. The Lions would battle back as they caught fire making 13 of their last 17 shots in the first half to take a 48-41 halftime lead. SLU drilled six three-pointers in the first half while outrebounding the Cowboys, 19-10.

The 48 first half points was the most for SLU in a half since Feb. 2, 2019 when the Lions scored 48 in the second half of a 91-70 win over Nicholls.

In the second half, the Lions built their lead to 14, 57-43. However, the Cowboys rallied back to cut the deficit to one three different times. But Clergeot scored 10 of the Lions’ final 14 points to seal the win.

Southeastern finished the game 32-for-59 from the field for 54 percent while McNeese was 32-for-50 for 64 percent. SLU also tied a season-low with 11 turnovers and season-high in three-pointers (11-for-26). The Lions also helped themselves at the free throw line making 17 out of 22.

The offensive explosion comes just three days after the Lions were held to a season-low 42 points at Abilene Christian while committing 30 turnovers.

“That’s kind of been our theme all year,” said Kiefer. “To not look in the rearview mirror and learn from our mistakes. McNeese is a really good basketball team and for us to come here and win is a really good win for our program.”

The Lions will be back in action Saturday afternoon at home when they face Northwestern State (2-14, 1-4 Southland) at 4 p.m.

SLU 92 (4-10, 2-3 Southland)
Ifejeh 2-3, 0-0 4, Okafor 10-16, 2-4 26, Kirby 3-4, 3-4 10, Clergeot 6-12, 9-11 22, Kasperzyk 4-11, 0-0 10, Caldwell 4-7, 3-3 12, Smith 2-4, 0-0 5, Romanov 1-2, 0-0 3
Totals 32-59, 17-22 92

MCN (6-8, 0-5) Southland)
Feazell 2-5, 6-6 10, Rosario 9-10, 1-2 19, Kuxhausen 5-9, 1-1 16, Warren 1-4, 2-4 4, Lawson 8-11, 4-6 21, Bush 5-7, 2-3 12, Francois 2-4, 1-1 6, Hutchinson 0-0, 0-0
Totals 32-50, 15-20 88

Halftime – SLU 48, MCN 41. 3-point goals – SLU 11-26, (Okafor 4-6, Kasperzyk 2-7, Kirby 1-2, Clergeot 1-5, Caldwell 1-2, Smith 1-2, Romanov 1-2) MCN 9-16 (Kuxhausen 5-7, Bush 2-3, Francois 1-3, Lawson 1-2, Warren 0-1). Technical Fouls SLU – None. MCN – None. Fouled Out – SLU None. MCN – Feazell. Rebounds – SLU 26, MCN 24 (SLU – Okafor 6), (MCN – Lawson 7). Assists – SLU 17, MCN 21 (SLU – Kirby 4), (ACU– Lawson 12). Total Fouls – ACU 28, SLU 26