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The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team begins the second half of Southland Conference play at home this weekend as it hosts McNeese Thursday at 8 p.m. and HBU Saturday at 4 p.m. in the University Center.

SLU (12-12, 4-3 Southland) split road games last week earning an 83-78 win at McNeese Thursday night and falling to HBU 93-80. In Thursday’s win, Southeastern drilled 11 three-pointers and led by as many as 17 points before holding off a late run by McNeese. In Saturday’s game, the Lions committed a season-high 21 turnovers in a setback to the Huskies.

Southeastern’s offensive balance has been on display during the first half of Southland action. Five players are averaging in double-figures for the Lions in league play led by Jalyn Hinton (16.3 ppg), Gus Okafor (13.3 ppg), Keon Clergeot (12.5 ppg), Joe Kasperzyk (11.7 ppg) and Ryan Burkhardt (10.6 ppg).

The Lions continue to lead the Southland in three-pointers made with 222 led by Burkhardt. The St. Augustine, Florida native has made 64 from long range this season, which is second in the Southland.

McNeese (9-15, 3-4 Southland) picked up a 93-84 win at home over Northwestern State Saturday afternoon snapping a three-game losing streak following its loss to SLU.

The Cowboys have a couple of viable scoring options as well. Zack Scott leads the team during Southland play averaging 15.7 points per game on 24-for-44 (54.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. Christian Shumate, the Cowboys’ leading rebounder (6.0 rpg), is scoring 15.0 points per Southland contest.

The Lions will be eyeing payback Saturday as they welcome in HBU (7-13, 3-4 Southland). SLU and HBU have split this season with the Lions defeating the Huskies, 90-81 at the Southland Tip-Off in Katy, Texas prior to HBU returning the favor Saturday in Houston.

The Huskies are led by reigning Southland Player of the Week Darius Lee. Lee scored 30 points on 11-for-17 shooting in a loss to Northwestern State last Thursday and followed it up with a 32-point performance in the victory over the Lions Saturday.

Fans can watch the live broadcasts of Thursday’s and Saturday’s game on ESPN+. An audio broadcast will be available for Thursday’s game against McNeese. Live stats will be available for both games with links located 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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