Southeastern senior guard/forward Nick Caldwell dropped 21 points to lead the Lions past the Northwestern State Demons 71-62 on Monday night at the Pride Roofing University Center.
The Green and Gold snapped a four-game losing skid and secured a much-needed win. They sit at 7-12 on the season with a 2-4 Southland Conference record and a chance to turn around their season.
Caldwell’s point total nearly matched his season-high; he scored 23 points on the road against Murray State on Dec. 16.
Joining Caldwell was junior guard Roger McFarlane, who had 18 points, 13 boards, three steals and one alley-oop slam that capped off the win. In his last seven games, McFarlane is averaging a double-double with 15.1 PPG and 10.8 rebounds; both lead SLU.
Graduate guard Alec Woodard chipped in 16 points, drilled three out of six triples and swiped away a career-high five steals. The trio combined for 55 points out of Southeastern’s 72 points.
Just 20 seconds into the ballgame, Caldwell hit a layup to get the Lions on the board. On the first defensive possession, Woodard intercepted a bad pass and fell on top of the ball to nab his first steal of the game.
Right out the gate, the energy from the Green and Gold was elevated but short-lived. NSU guard Cliff Davis responded with a triple, his first out of four. The Demons kept pace with the Lions as both teams traded buckets in the first period.
With 8:55 remaining in the first period and the score at 21-18 in SLU’s favor, Northwestern embarked on a 12-0 run in the next 5 minutes to make the score 30-21.
After a timeout from Head Coach David Kiefer, Southeastern went on a 12-4 run to end the half down 34-33. To start the run, Woodard hit a pull-up three-pointer coming off of a high pick-and-roll; two made free throws by sophomore forward Dylan Canoville closed out their scoring surge.
The two teams would trade blows in the second half until SLU went on an 11-0 run from the 8:33 mark to 5:57. McFarlane’s dunk highlighted the outburst.
Caldwell intercepted a pass and threw the ball ahead to Woodard, who was already running in transition. Woodard tossed a beautiful pass to McFarlane for the alley-oop slam, which erupted the crowd and fellow teammates.
Davis ended the game with 15 points for NSU and his co-star Chase Forte added 12 points.
The Green and Gold will look to continue their momentum as they head west to Beaumont, Texas, to tango with Lamar University. The Cardinals are 5-2 in their last seven games and tied for second place in the SLC.
The two Southland rivals will clash tonight at 6 p.m. Tune in to ESPN+ to catch the game live.
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