Second half surge fuels Lions to 79-73 win over UNO

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team used a 21-6 second half run and had four players score in double figures as they defeated the University of New Orleans, 79-73, Saturday afternoon at the University Center.

The Lions (6-11, 4-4 Southland) were led by Keon Clergeot with 24 points. The senior guard finished 7-for-14 from the field and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. The UMass transfer added to his Southland lead in free throws made with 104 for the season.

“He makes me look good as a coach,” said second-year SLU head coach David Kiefer. “When it’s crunch time, he’s been a consistent closer for us down the stretch and a huge addition to the program.”

Nick Caldwell, a sophomore, added 17 points and 10 rebounds for SLU for his second career double-double. The Geismar, Louisiana product finished 8-for-13 from the field and had a steal.

“He gets better every single day,” said Kiefer. “His confidence and understanding of the game are growing better every game. I knew with UNO’s aggressiveness that Nick would be up for the challenge and he responded great tonight.”

SLU also got 20 points and nine rebounds from junior Gus Okafor. Out of Baltimore, Maryland, Okafor is averaging 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds over his last four games. Junior Joe Kasperzyk chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals to aid the Lions.

The Privateers (4-12, 3-5 Southland) got 22 points from junior guard Damion Rosser on 6-for-8 shooting and 9-for-12 from the field. Derek St. Hilaire added 18 points on 7-for-15 for UNO.

The Lions and Privateers went toe-to-toe in the first half as neither team led by more than six points in the first 20 minutes. When the dust settled on the physical first half, UNO had a 36-34 lead at halftime.

UNO possessed a 51-46 lead with 13:36 to play when SLU used a 21-6 run to take their largest lead of the game, 67-57, with 5:13 remaining. The Privateers cut the Lions’ lead to four three different times in the final four minutes but SLU made seven of nine free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Southeastern finished the game 27-for-62 (43.5 percent) from the field and 21-for-29 (72 percent) from the free throw line. UNO was 23-for-58 (39 percent) and 21-for-26 from the free throw line. The game was decided under the rim as SLU outscored UNO 44-26 in the paint.

“We emphasis that (points in the paint) every game,” said Kiefer. “We knew tonight we were going to have be even better than usual in the paint because UNO is extra physical and aggressive.”

Southeastern will have an 11-day lay-off before returning to action Wednesday, Feb. 10 on the road against league leader Sam Houston State (13-5, 7-0 Southland) at 6:30 p.m.

UNO 73 (4-12, 3-5 Southland)
Myers 0-4, 3-4 3, Rosser 6-8, 9-12 22, Green 3-8, 2-2 8, Hilaire 7-for-15, 2-3 18, Carson 1-3, 3-3 5, Doughty 2-7, 1-5 5, Marshall 1-3, 2-2 4, Berzat 2-9, 0-0 5, Bohannon 1-1, 0-0 3
Totals 23-58, 21-26 73
SLU 79 (6-11, 4-4 Southland)
Ifejeh 1-2, 0-0 2, Okafor 6-16, 6-9 20, Kirby 1-2, 2-2 4, Clergeot 7-14, 10-14 24, Kasperzyk 4-12, 3-4 12, Caldwell 8-13, 0-0 17, Smith 0-1, 0-0 0, Romanov 0-2, 0-0 0, Strange 0-0, 0-0 0, Kemp 0-0, 0-0 0
Totals 27-62, 21-29 79
Halftime – UNO 36, SLU 34. 3-point goals – UNO 6-22 (St. Hilaire 2-6, Doughty 1-5, Berzat 1-7, Rosser 1-2, Bohannon 1-1, Carson 0-1) SLU 4-16 (Okafor 2-6, Kasperzyk 1-4, Caldwell 1-1, Ifejeh 1-2, Kirby 1-2, Smith 0-1, Romanov 0-1, Clergeot 0-3). Technical Fouls SLU – Clergeot. UNO – None. Fouled Out – SLU None. UNO – Rosser. Rebounds – SLU 39, UNO 39 (SLU – Caldwell 10), (UNO – Hilaire, Carson 8). Assists – UNO 14, SLU 11 (UNO – Hilaire 6), (SLU – Kasperzyk 4). Total Fouls – SLU 24, UNO 21