After beating the hottest team in the country, the Southeastern Lions (10-13, 5-5 SLC) overpowered the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals (7-15, 2-7 SLC) 76-64 to win their third straight game on Monday night at the Pride Roofing University Center.
SLU saw four players enter double-figures: senior guard/forward Nick Caldwell (18), junior guard Roger McFarlane (18), graduate guard Alec Woodard (16) and sophomore forward Brock Rowbury (15).
Collectively, the Green and Gold shot 52.2% in the contest and shot a red-hot 11-20 (55%) from three.
“I thought we played with good spacing, and our guys shared the basketball well tonight. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit, and our guys do that well,” Head Coach David Kiefer said.
Senior guard Roscoe Eastmond tied a career-high in assists with 13, his second time in three games eclipsing 12 or more assists. Eastmond also has four games this year recording 10 or more dimes in a game.
The momentum from the game against McNeese carried over as the Lions roared out the gate with a 14-2 run over UIW. Woodard scored seven out of his 16 points in this period to give Southeastern their lead.
The Cardinals responded with a run to get back into the ball game. After a three from guard Alex Anderson, it capped off a 14-5 run to make the score 19-17.
However, SLU would build upon their two-point lead to stave off a UIW comeback. McFarlane buried a triple with five seconds left in the first half to give Southeastern a 36-24 lead.
The Green and Gold caught fire in the second half by shooting a remarkable 73.3% from the field and drilling five out of seven threes.
The Lions amassed their lead to as much as 16 points after a massive dunk by Caldwell, which ignited the entire bench. McFarlane had another huge dunk a couple of possessions later, which officially put the game to bed.
Anderson ended the game with 13 points for the Cardinals, while guards Sky Wicks and Josiah Hammons had 15 and 14 points, respectively.
SLU will travel north to face the Northwestern State Demons (6-17, 4-6 SLC) on Saturday, Feb. 10.
NSU enters the contest with four losses out of their last five games, yet they remain a game behind Southeastern in the Southland Conference standings. The Green and Gold will look to win their fourth straight game.
“We got off to a rough start, but it shows the resilience of our team for not giving up and quitting. The best basketball is played in February and March, and that’s what we’re starting to do,” Kiefer said.
Tune in on ESPN+ to watch the game live at 3 p.m. For more coverage of Lions basketball, visit The Lion’s Roar.
