Southeastern drops Stephen F. Austin with 12-0 closing run

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana closed the game on a 12-0 run to take a Southland Conference-opening 73-62 win over Stephen F. Austin Thursday night in the University Center.

Trailing 62-61, Senior guard Jabbar Singleton gave the Lions (7-7, 1-0 Southland) the lead for good with two free throws with 1:26 left. Junior guard Marlain Veal scored off a block by junior forward Moses Greenwood, then went the distance off his own rebound to make it 67-62 with 23 seconds remaining. He would add four free throws in the final 14 seconds.

Veal finished with a game-high 27 points and added 10 rebounds for his third career double-double. He also had six assists. Senior forward James Currrington also had his fifth double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Senior guard Joshua Filmore added 15 points and three steals for Southeastern which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Lions shot 47.5 percent overall and out-rebounded Stephen F. Austin 32-27.

Stephen F. Austin (11-3, 0-1 Southland) was led by TJ Holyfield with 17 points and six rebounds. Kevon Harris contributed nine points.

Southeastern took a 33-29 lead following a half that saw six lead changes. A layup by senior forward Jordan Capps made it 39-33 with 15:42 remaning. After SFA pulled to within 40-38 on a three-point play by Holyfield at the 14:54 mark, Singleton and Veal hit consecutive 3s to give the Lion s a 48-38 lead with 13:13 left.

The Lumberjacks then went on a 14-4 run over the next 6:36 to tie the game at 52 on a Harris jumper with 6:37 remaining. A Holyfield jumper put SFA up 58-55 with 4:13 left. Filmore answered with 3s on consecutive possessions to give Southeastern a 61-60 lead at the 2:44 mark. Holyfield gave the Lumberjacks their final lead with a jumper with 2:21 left.

Southeastern jumped out to an 8-0 lead at the 16:10 mark as Filmore lobbed a pass to Veal for a dunk and Currington scored off a putback. After Ivan Canete got Stephen F. Austin on the board with a layup, Veal hit a 3 and Currington knocked down a jumper for a 13-2 lead at the 15:24 mark.

A Veal jumper made it 15-4 with 14:10 left in the half. The Lumberjacks then went on a 13-1 run over the next 4:20. Holyfield hit a 3 to give SFA its first lead at the 9:50 mark. Filmore regained the lead for the Lions with a 3 with 9:23 left but Harris answered with another 3 to put the Lumberjacks up 20-19 with 8:11 remaining.

Capps and Currington each hit two free throws put Southeastern ahead 23-20 with 5:58 left. SFA countered with a 7-1 to take its biggest lead of the half at 27-24 on a Ty Charles jumper at the 3:39 mark. Filmore drained a 3 and Currington hit a free throw to put the Lions back ahead, 30-27, with 2:19 remaining.

NOTES:

Southeastern snapped a five-game losing streak to Stephen F. Austin. The Lions’ previous win over the Lumberjacks came at home, 54-50, on Feb. 16, 2013.

Southeastern won consecutive conference openers for the first time since 2009-11.

QUOTES:

Southeastern head coach Jay Ladner:

    Stephen F. Austin is the measuring stick for our program. They had an incredible non-league schedule and have been successful. My hat’s off to them. I thought our guys rose to the occasion. We had lost three games in a row but at times our team was playing very well so I was feeling pretty good about our progress. I thought tonight was the first time we got up in the second half – we got up nine and like a great team is going to do, they immediately started chipping away at it and went ahead – and we showed some maturity and overcame it tonight. We overcame it by hitting some big shots and stopping their runs. We were unable to do that at UL Lafayette and at Central Florida. I thought our guys did well. I thought this game was won on Christmas night, on Tuesday and Wednesday. We told our guys this is not business as usual. Our practice intensity was good, it changed, our demand at practice changed. Our players were locked in.”

UP NEXT:

Southeastern closes out 2017 with a New Year’s Eve trip to Southland rival Central Arkansas. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

BOX SCORE

Southeastern La. 73, Stephen F. Austin 62

SFA (11-3, 0-1 SLC)

Holyfield, TJ 7-12 2-3 17; Harris, Kevon 4-8 0-0 9; Charles, Ty 2-6 2-2 7; Canete, Ivan 2-8 1-4 6; Gilmore III, Leon 2-5 2-2 6; Bogues, Shannon 3-6 0-0 6; Comeaux, John 2-5 2-3 6; Nieminen, Samuli 1-1 1-2 3; Augustin, Aaron 0-2 2-2 2; Bain, Nathan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 12-18 62.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (7-7, 1-0 SLC)

Veal, Marlain 7-12 10-12 27; Filmore, Joshua 5-9 0-0 15; Currington, James 4-5 6-8 14; Singleton, Jabbar 1-5 5-6 8; Capps, Jordan 2-7 2-4 6; Greenwood, Moses 0-0 3-6 3; Polanco, Eddy 0-0 0-0 0; Thomas, Quinton 0-0 0-0 0; Charleston, Keith 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 19-40 26-37 73.

SFA………………………   29   33  –   62

Southeastern Louisiana……..   33   40  –   73

3-point goals–SFA 4-14 (Harris, Kevon 1-3; Canete, Ivan 1-5; Holyfield, TJ 1-1; Charles, Ty 1-2; Comeaux, John 0-1; Bogues, Shannon 0-1; Gilmore III, Leon 0-1), Southeastern Louisiana 9-21 (Filmore, Joshua 5-9; Veal, Marlain 3-6; Singleton, Jabbar 1-3; Charleston, Keith 0-2; Capps, Jordan 0-1). Fouled out–SFA-Augustin, Aaron, Southeastern Louisiana-None. Rebounds—SFA 27 (Holyfield, TJ 6), Southeastern Louisiana 32 (Veal, Marlain 10; Currington, James 10). Assists–SFA 8 (Canete, Ivan 2; Gilmore III, Leon 2), Southeastern Louisiana 14 (Veal, Marlain 6). Total fouls–SFA 27, Southeastern Louisiana 18. Technical fouls- SFA-Canete, Ivan, Southeastern Louisiana-None. A-693