NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team used a 14-6 run late in the first half and a 17-0 run early in the second half to pull away from New Orleans as the Lions completed the season sweep of the Privateers with an 80-64 win Saturday afternoon at the Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena.
Much like in Thursday’s first meeting between the two teams, it was UNO which came out hot early as the Privateers jumped out to a 17-8 lead just more than seven minutes into the contest. Southeastern answered the challenge in a big way, scoring the next nine to tie the score on a Boogie Anderson transition layup with just less than nine minutes left in the first half.
That 9-0 push was part of a larger 20-3 Lions run as a pair of free throws by Alec Woodard gave SLU a 28-20 lead with 5:33 left before halftime. UNO cut that lead down to four at 34-30 with less than three minutes remaining before the break, however, it was the Lions who finished the half strong, going on the 14-6 run to end the period as a layup by Roger McFarlane put Southeastern up 44-30 before a UNO free throw capped the scoring in the first half as SLU led 44-31 at the break.
Out of the locker room, it was again the Privateers who got the early advantage, scoring nine of the first 11 points to cut the Lion lead down to just six points at 46-40 with 17:45 left. But Nick Caldwell hit a free throw which started the run that gave Southeastern the separation needed to put the game away as that point was the first of 17 straight by the Lions as a bucket by the returning Brody Rowbury put SLU up 63-40 with 10:30 remaining. UNO made one desperate run to get back into the game, cutting the deficit down to 11 with just less than six minutes left, but the Privateers would get no closer and Southeastern closed out the win.
“This was a total team win tonight against a very physical and well coached UNO team,” said SLU head men’s basketball coach David Kiefer. “The guys were very disruptive on the defensive end. I thought we were able to really get out in transition for scores. The addition of Brody Rowbury to our team is a huge piece.”
Once again, it was Caldwell who led the Lions attack against the Privateers as he finished the game hitting five field goals, two from above the arc, and nine of 11 from the free throw line to end the game with 21 points while grabbing a team high eight rebounds, blocked a shot, and had a steal. Woodard was nearly perfect for the evening, hitting six of the seven shots, including both three-pointers and all three of his free throw attempts to finish the night with 17 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Anderson finished with 12 points, five assists, and two boards. Roscoe Eastmond ended the night with 11 points and five steals. McFarlane filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Southeastern shot 50% in the game and 42.9% from three, but really excelled at the free throw line where Southeastern hit 18 of their 20 attempts at the line. UNO hit for 47.2% from the field, including 61.5% from three, but hit just six of nine from the free throw line. SLU’s defense forced the Privateers into 24 turnovers in the contest leading to 30 Lions points while UNO got just 15 turnovers, leading to 19 points for the Privateers.
The Lions (13-9, 7-2 SLC) return home on Thursday, looking to complete the season sweep against Incarnate Word. Tip-off against the Cardinals (10-12, 4-5 SLC) is set for 7:30 P.M. in the University Center and will be streamed on ESPN+.
{Courtesy: Southeastern Athletics}
