SFA holds off Lions’ comeback bid, 82-71

HAMMOND, La. – After falling behind by 16 points at halftime, the Southeastern Louisiana men’s basketball team rallied to cut the deficit to six before falling to Stephen F. Austin, 82-71, Thursday afternoon at the University Center.

SFA (12-2, 3-0 Southland) was led by first team preseason All-Southland selection Kevon Harris with 21 points and 11 rebounds. The senior from Ellenwood, Georgia shot 6-for-11 from the field and 9-for12 from the free throw line. Roti Ware, a junior, added 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting while junior Cameron Johnson chipped in with 18 points. David Kachelries added 10 points to pace the ‘Jacks.

SLU (3-10, 0-2 Southland) was led by freshman Byron Smith with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting including three three-pointers. Freshman Isiah Kirby scored 11 points and drilled three trays as well. Ty Brewer and LaQuan Butler each added 10 points for the Lions.

The Lions opened the game on the offensive jumping out to a 10-3 lead highlighted by three-pointers by Butler and Brandon Gonzalez. The ‘Jacks rallied back to take a 23-22 lead with 8:16 remaining in the first half. SFA added to their lead storming on a 19-4 run to end the first half taking a 42-26 lead.

Southeastern mounted a rally in the second half cutting the deficit to six, 73-67, with 3:05 to go but were unable to get any closer. The ‘Jacks held off the Lions’ comeback bid by making 15 of 18 free throws in the second half on their way to their fifth straight win.

“I thought we came out with good intensity early on and knocked them back,” said SLU men’s basketball head coach David Kiefer. “But they (SFA) gathered themselves and did what they do which was create turnovers and get some offensive rebounds and create opportunities at the rim. And they made several threes that sparked their run. Once we withstood the run we played well but we just couldn’t quite close the gap.”

The ‘Jacks finished the 30 points in the paint to 16 for SLU and outrebounded the Lions 38-27. SFA also shot 23-for-32 from the free throw line while Southeastern was 12-for-16. Despite the loss, SLU did drill nine three-pointers.

Next up, the Lions will travel to Corpus Christi, Texas to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-9, 0-2 Southland) Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

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.

SFA 82, SOUTHEASTERN LA 71
SFA (12-2,3-0 Southla)
Kevon Harris 6-11 9-12 21; Roti Ware 7-11 4-4 20; Cameron Johnson 8-10 2-2 18; David Kachelries 4-7 0-0 10; John Comeaux 1-5 4-6 6; Oddyst Walker 1-5 0-0 3; Nathan Bain 0-2 2-2 2; Charlie Daniels 0-2 1-4 1; Calvin Solomon 0-0 1-2 1; Tyler Zivney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 23-32 82.
SOUTHEASTERN LA (3-10,0-2 Southland)
Byron Smith 6-9 0-0 15; Isiah Kirby 4-7 0-0 11; LaQuan Butler 3-7 3-4 10; Brewer, Ty 5-12 0-0 10; Julien, Von 1-4 5-6 7; Diop, Pape 3-7 0-2 6; Gonzalez, Brandon 1-4 2-2 5; Maxwell Starwood 1-1 2-2 4; Caldwell, Nick 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 25-57 12-16 71.

SFA……………………………. 42 40 – 82
Southeastern La…………… 26 45 – 71

3-point goals–SFA 5-14 (Roti Ware 2-3; David Kachelries 2-5; Oddyst Walker 1-3; Nathan Bain 0-1; Kevon Harris 0-2), Southeastern La 9-28 (Byron Smith 3-3; Isiah Kirby 3-6; Caldwell, Nick 1-4; LaQuan Butler 1-4; Gonzalez, Brandon 1-4; Diop, Pape 0-1; Julien, Von 0-2; Brewer, Ty 0-4). Fouled out–SFA-None, Southeastern La-None. Rebounds–SFA 38 (Kevon Harris 11), Southeastern La 27 (Diop, Pape 7; Brewer, Ty 7). Assists–SFA 10 (John Comeaux 3; Kevon Harris 3), Southeastern La 14 (Julien, Von 5). Total fouls–SFA 19, Southeastern La 23. Technical fouls–SFA-Charlie Daniels, Southeastern La-None. A-611