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The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team had a 14-point first half lead before falling, 78-72, to UNO Thursday night on the road at Lakefront Arena in Southland Conference action as SLU’s five-game winning streak was snapped.

The Lions (9-10, 1-1 Southland) were led by preseason second team All-Southland selection Gus Okafor with 18 points and six rebounds while Joe Kasperzyk had 14. Jalyn Hinton Hinton added eight points, 10 rebounds, dished out seven assists and blocked a shot.

The Privateers (9-8, 2-0 Southland) had four players score in double figures led by Derek St. Hilaire, the second leading scorer in the Southland, with 19 points. Preseason first team All-Southland selection Troy Green had 16 points while Simeon Kirkland and Tyson Jackson had 14 and 11, respectively. Green, the reigning Southland Player of the Week, also had 13 rebounds for a double-double.

SLU appeared to be on their way to a sixth straight win as they led 41-27 late in the first half. Southeastern maintained a double-digit lead early in the second half as it led 46-34 with 17:47 left. But the foul trouble began to mount as Okafor and Hinton spent much of the second half with four fouls.

The Privateers began to work their way back into the game and took a 71-68 lead with 2:50 to go. SLU’s Roscoe Eastmond tied the game at 71-71 drilling a three-pointer from the corner right in front of the Lions’ bench.

However, Southeastern scored just one point in the final 1:30 of the game as UNO rallied to edge the Lions.

Southeastern finished the game 26-for-55 (47 percent) but just 8-for-33 (24 percent) from the three-point line. UNO shot 49.1 percent for the game on 28-for-57 shooting and outscored the Lions, 46-34, in the paint.

However, the game was won at the free throw line as the Privateers converted 18-for-27 (66 percent) while the Lions were 12-for-18 (66 percent).

SLU will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon when it takes on Nicholls at 3 p.m. on the road in Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Fans can follow the action on ESPN+ as well on the audio play-by-play on LionSports.Net. Links to the game along with live stats will be available at the Southeastern men’s basketball schedule page at 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.

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