Southeastern bounces back with road win over UIW

Rowbury’s Career Night Helps Lions Pull Away and Finish Season Sweep of UIW

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team got the first 20-point game of Brody Rowbury’s collegiate career which helped the Lions pull away in the second half to a 73-56 win over the Incarnate Word Cardinals Monday night at the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center.

Southeastern (15-15, 10-7 SLC) jumped out to a quick advantage as Rowbury opened the scoring with a hook shot in the paint, and then, when he converted on a pair of free throws with 16:15 left in the first half, finished what was a game-opening 9-0 run for the Lions. Incarnate Word (8-22, 3-14 SLC) started to find its groove from three which propelled the Cardinals onto a 21-10 run, giving UIW its first lead of the contest at 21-19 with 7:45 to go before halftime.

From there, both teams started to struggle to find the basket, though the Cardinals would take its largest lead of the contest with 2:45 to go in the period as a jumper gave UIW a 27-24 lead. With UIW leading 29-26 and less than a minute remaining before halftime, Roger McFarlane hit a pair of free throws which the Lions turned into a half-ending 5-1 Southeastern push as Rowbury hit another pair of free throws with just five seconds left to give SLU a 31-30 lead at the break.

UIW hit a three to open the scoring of the second half, reclaiming the lead at 33-31, but when Alec Woodard responded with a triple of his own on Southeastern’s ensuing possession, the Lions grabbed the lead back and would not surrender it for the remainder of the contest. The run extended out to 8-1 in SLU’s favor as Brody Rowbury got to the rim with a layup to make the score 39-34 Lions with 16:50 remaining in the contest.

The Cardinals answered with a three to cut the SLU lead down to 39-37, but that would only be a temporary reprieve as Kam Burton came back with his own triple which kicked off a 12-0 Southeastern run, which Burton also ended with a three which gave Southeastern a 51-37 advantage with 11:10 remaining.

The Cardinals answered that run by scoring the next seven points, cutting the Lions lead down to 51-44 with 8:45 to go, slowing the run. UIW would pull a bit closer as a three pointer with just less than five minutes left made it a six-point game at 58-52 Lions, but the Cardinals would get no closer as Caldwell was fouled on a three-point attempt on Southeastern’s ensuing possession, making all three of the free throw attempts that he was awarded.

That’s where the Lions closed out the contest by going on a 13-1 run as Alec Woodard split a pair of free throws to put Southeastern up 71-53 with 47 seconds remaining in the contest and giving SLU its largest lead of the contest, ensuring the win.

Rowbury’s first 20-point game as a Lion proved to be a dominant one inside for the sophomore from Idaho as he hit all seven of his field goal attempts and was six-of-seven at the free throw line to finish with exactly 20 points. He also grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots, dished out an assist, and came up with a steal. Caldwell rebounded from a tough outing on Saturday to finish with 18 points as he hit four of his 10 shot attempts, including both of his three-point attempts. He also grabbed four boards, came up with two steals, and dished out a pair of assists. Burton found his stroke, going five-of eight from the field with all five of his makes and seven of his attempts coming from beyond the three-point arc to finish with 15 points while also grabbing a pair of boards. McFarlane picked up his 10th double-double of the season by scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He also had two assists and a steal to round out his line on the evening.

After shooting just under 26% in the first half, Southeastern found its stroke in the second half, hitting 58.3% in the last 20 minutes to finish at 41.2% shooting for the contest. The Lions also came alive from deep, hitting six of the eight threes the team made in the game during the last 20 minutes. SLU also found ways to get to the free throw line during the contest, taking 33 shots from the charity stripe in the contest, making 23 of them. UIW hit in the low 30% range in both halves to finish at 32.8% overall in the contest. The Cardinals made 11 threes, which helped keep them in the game, hitting at a 31.4% clip from deep. However, the threes kept UIW from getting to the free throw line as much, taking 12 shots from the stripe, making seven, which gave SLU a 16-point edge in made free throws.

While the Lions did its part on this night to keep hopes alive for a bye in the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Southland Conference Basketball Championships presented by Explore Louisiana, Southeastern found out that other results on the evening officially locked SLU into the five-seed, meaning the Lions will play in a first round game on Sunday evening at 5 p.m.

Now secured into its seed for the tournament, SLU will look to build some momentum for the postseason as it ends the regular season on Thursday, welcoming in Nicholls for senior day in Hammond, America, honoring four Lions who will be playing their final home game that night. Tip-off of Thursday’s game against the Colonels (17-13, 12-5 SLC) is set for 7:30 p.m., or about 30 minutes following the women’s game, in the Pride Roofing University Center.

Thursday’s game will be live streamed on ESPN+ while a radio broadcast will be available, thanks to the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, on 90.9 FM The Lion in the Hammond/Ponchatoula area and worldwide on LionSports.net/ListenLive or LionUpRadio.org, or you can listen to the game on smart devices through the Lions Gameday Experience app, the TuneIn Radio app, or the MyTuner Radio app. Live stats will also be available through 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 @LionUpMBB and @DavidKieferSLU on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.