Southeastern men’s basketball (17-10, 11-5 SLC) played a pair of thrillers at the University Center in the span of three days against Nicholls (16-11, 10-6 SLC) on Saturday evening (Feb. 15) and McNeese (21-6, 15-1 SLC) on Monday night (Feb. 17). 

The Lions had two plays (one from each game) aired on SportsCenter, summing up the level of entertainment on display in Hammond, America. 

SLU defeated the Colonels in dramatic fashion as Sam Hines Jr. swished a step-back three at the horn, lifting the Lions to an 84-81 overtime victory. 

“I’ve said it all year: this is the most resilient group we’ve had here,” said Head Coach David Kiefer.

The sixth-year coach used “grit” and “toughness” as adjectives to describe his team after the win.

However, a clash against the first-place Cowboys proved difficult for the Green and Gold, who battled throughout and showed their might against Will Wade’s bunch despite ultimately losing 88-82.

The Lions will stay in Hammond tomorrow (Feb. 22), where they’ll host the East Texas A&M Lions (3-24, 1-15 SLC) at the UC to settle rights for “King of the Jungle.” 

Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be live streamed on ESPN+. Radio listeners can tune in to 90.9 The Lion. 

SLU vs. Nicholls — Saturday, Feb. 15 

An extraordinary battle between two fierce rivals summed up the latest River Bell bout on the hardwood between Southeastern and Nicholls on Saturday evening. 

Hines’ step-back three as time expired punctuated the Lions’ final roar over the Colonels in a gutsy Green and Gold victory. 

Nicholls led by as many as 12 with 10:18 to play in the second half, but a resilient SLU side refused to go away. 

A Jamal West Jr. free throw gave the Colonels a 72-67 lead at the 1:14 mark, but a 5-0 Jakevion Buckley run tied the game at 72-72 at the end of regulation. 

The two-time reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week drained a clutch trey with 1:02 to play before the Lions’ defense came up with a crucial stop. 

The Lamar transfer was fouled with nine seconds left and calmly sank both shots from the charity stripe to force overtime. 

During the extra period, sophomore guard Kam Burton’s transition dunk nearly brought the house down as SLU took a seemingly game-clinching 81-75 lead with only 24 seconds remaining. 

However, Nicholls’ Robert Brown III was fouled on his missed three-point attempt by Hines. 

Brown converted all three free throws at the line and suddenly the Colonels had life. 

On the ensuing possession, disaster would strike for the Lions; freshman forward Jeremy Elyzee turned the ball over and Brown banked in a desperation three off the glass as Nicholls improbably tied the game with four seconds left in OT. 

A frustrated David Kiefer signaled for an SLU timeout and drew up the best play in basketball when the game was on the line — give the rock to your best player.  

Hines received the inbounds pass and raced down the court in five quick dribbles before stepping back for a last-second three right in front of the Lions’ bench. 

The ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, ending a near-perfect game in unbelievable fashion. 

“Once I shot it, I thought it looked pretty good. It went in and I was just really happy to celebrate with my teammates. It was a great moment,” Hines said.

His shot was featured on SportsCenter as part of its Saturday’s Best Buzzer Beaters segment. 

The South Florida transfer led the Lions with 25 points, while his backcourt partner Buckley finished with 23. 

Elyzee recorded his third double-double of the campaign with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

Junior forward Brody Rowbury added 12 points while Burton tallied 10, representing five SLU players in double figures.  

SLU vs. McNeese — Monday, Feb. 17

With only one day of rest to soak in the glory of Saturday’s game against Nicholls, Southeastern returned to the UC to host league-leading McNeese. 

The Cowboys jumped out to a commanding 30-13 lead with 8:51 to play in the first half, silencing the arena for the time being. 

However, the Lions responded with a 28-14 spurt of their own to end the half with momentum and entered the locker room only trailing by three, 44-41. 

SLU wouldn’t stop there, coming out of the second half gates with steam. 

Junior guard Jaiden Lawrence’s corner triple gave Southeastern a 56-49 edge with 14:52 to go in the period, capping off a 15-5 Lions blitz since play resumed. 

The middle portion of the half was owned by McNeese, who showed why it was worthy of being conference leaders.

At the 6:55 mark, the Cowboys flipped the script, going back on top 76-66, concluding a 27-10 run. 

SLU managed to make up four points down the stretch but couldn’t chip away quite enough to avoid defeat, as McNeese won by six. 

Buckley led all scorers with 25 points on an efficient 9/13 from the field and dished out a game-high seven assists. 

Elyzee and Lawrence scored 14 points apiece, each sinking four triples. 

It is worth noting that Elyzee recorded an emphatic rejection at the rim on Cowboys guard Quadir Copeland. 

The breathtaking block earned Elyzee the No. 3 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays later that evening, SLU’s second entry on the renowned ESPN show in three days’ time. 

Hines had an off night for his lofty standards in terms of points, finishing with just 10. However, the senior guard did grab a team-leading six rebounds. 

“We knew it was going to be a tough fight; we just have to stay together. We can come back from this. It’s just the little things we’ve got to fix,” Buckley concluded of the team’s performance.

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