The Lions have dropped all eight-road games this season, most recently the last five games. Three of the five losses came at the hands of Division I opponents Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas Tech. The Lions played all five games without leading scorer, senior guard Brandon Fortenberry, who is sidelined due to a toe injury.
The road trip began in Fayetteville, Ark. with the Lions falling in a 55-62 loss at the hands of the Razorbacks. Southeastern shot 32.7 percent from the field, led by senior center Elgin Bailey with 12 points and 12 rebounds, a game high in both categories.
“You’ve got some guys that have been there and that had to be good and they performed well,” said head coach Jim Yarbrough, referring to SEC transfers Elgin Bailey and Daron Populist. “They did a great job and that’s why they were brought here.”
Four days later, Yarbrough and his squad stayed in the SEC as they headed to Columbia, S.C. to face the Gamecocks, falling 42-62.
The Lions would go on to play their last game of 2011 and first game of 2012 in the state of Texas. On Dec. 30, the Lions closed 2011 in a nationally televised game on ESPNU versus Big 12 opponent Texas Tech, falling 54-62. Despite a strong performance by LSU transfer and guard Populist, who led the Lions with 10 points, the Red Raiders proved to be too much for the Lions to handle. The Red Raiders were lifted by the play of Jarvarez Willis who led all scorers with 15 points.
The Lions played their first game of 2012 on Jan 4., opening conference play versus UT-Arlington with a 46-85 loss. Southeastern shot 36.4 percent from the field in the match, while going 1 for 16 from the three. Lions junior forward Roosevelt Johnson led the Lions with 16 points on the night, followed by junior forward Jan Petrovic with 10 points going four for four from the field.
The Lions’ road trip ended on Saturday with their second straight conference loss to Stephen F. Austin, 36-63.
The Lions return to their home court at the University Center tonight versus Champion Baptist, where they are 5-0 this season.