On Wednesday night at the Pride Roofing University Center, Southeastern junior guard Roger McFarlane hit a go-ahead basket with 20 seconds left to give the Green and Gold a 48-47 victory over the Grambling State Tigers.
The Florida native scored a team-high 13 points to accompany his game-winner and pulled down nine boards to give SLU its fourth win of the season. Sophomore forward Brody Rowbury scored all 10 of his points in the second half and shot an efficient 80% from the field to aid McFarlane in the win.
Grambling State guard Kintavious Dozier gave Southeastern a scare in the second half. He scored 13 out of his 19 points while shooting a red-hot 80% and burying three out of four triples.
His efforts nearly completed the 12-point deficit for GSU.
To start the game, the Green and Gold nearly went four minutes without a point. Senior guard/forward Nick Caldwell finally gave SLU its first points of the night by making a heavily contested layup.
As the period continued, Southeastern caught fire from three by making five out of 12 triples (41.7%). The Lions amassed their lead to 11 points with 3:39 remaining, following a three from guard Alec Woodard. But by the end of the half, GSU cut the lead to eight with the score being 24-16.
At the 12:31 mark of the second half, the Green and Gold built its lead back up to 12 points behind two free throws from Woodard to make the game 37-25.
The Tigers responded with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to two points with 8:20 remaining. The two teams exchanged crucial buckets down the stretch of the game, which included Dozier hitting a left-side corner three with 33 seconds left to put Grambling ahead 47-46.
McFarlane dribbled the ball back down the court with the seconds dwindling. He drove right, stopped, pump faked and then took a fall-away midrange shot to give SLU the lead and the win.
Grambling State shot 48% from the field and 45.5% from three in the second half to climb back into the ball game, but Southeastern stood tall and defended home court.
SLU’s win over GSU marked its second straight win of the season after losing three straight. The Lions also beat Murray State on the road 61-55 on Saturday in their preceding game.
In what proved to be a low-scoring affair, Southeastern had to muster up some late-game heroics to bring home the win before entering a 10-day break.
Men’s basketball will resume on Dec. 30 vs Loyola New Orleans at 2 p.m. The Lions will be set to defend the PRUC in Hammond, America, before heading on a road trip to face off against Southland Conference rivals at the start of 2024.
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