Men's Basketball Continues Undefeated Start With Win Over SEU

Photo courtesy of Southeastern Sports Information.

LAKELAND, FLA. (Nov. 9, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team won a thrilling overtime game against Southeastern University (SEU) 111-103 on Saturday night to conclude the Southeastern Classic. The Saints remain undefeated at 4-0 while the Fire drop to 1-3. 

Head Coach Marcus Thompson said, "Wow, what a game! We did another great job of being resilient and showing the fight in us. Fighting back after being down 16 was great for this team. I love the fight we have. Learning while winning is always a good feeling. I'm beyond proud of this group."

Basics

The Saints started strong by jumping out to a 16-5 lead. The Fire responded by going on a 12-0 run to flip the advantage. Multiple lead changes followed but two three-pointers by the Fire put them up 60-46 at halftime. The Saints shot 59.4 percent from the field and hit 4-of-6 three-pointers in the first half. The Fire defense created 10 turnovers, and two players posted double-digit points. Lonzo Rand had 12 points for the Saints and Breion Powell had four rebounds. 

OLLU slowly shrunk SEU's lead in the second half. Rob Gil put in a layup with 4:31 remaining and hit a free throw to tie the game at 85-85. Both squads traded buckets and Trey Law made a layup with just under a minute left to give the Saints a 92-91 advantage. Lonzo Rand hit two free throws after being fouled and the Saints took a timeout with 25 seconds left. Montez Leath hit a key three-pointer with nine seconds on the clock to tie the game. Lonzo Rand had a chance at a game-winning layup, but it rimmed out and the game went to overtime. 

OLLU's offense stepped up in overtime by outscoring the Fire 17-9. The defense limited the Fire to 1-of-4 shooting from three-point range. Six different Saints put up points in overtime. The Fire only shot 50 percent from the charity stripe throughout the game and turned the ball over 24 times. Powell and Rand both finished with over 20 points. 111 points are the most scored by the Saints since Jan. 7, 2022. 

Offensive/defensive standouts

Rand led the Saints with 26 points. Powell had 12 rebounds and 20 points for a double-double. Gil led the Saints with six assists.

Southeastern was led by Ahmad Johnson with 25 points. Nathan Mikkelson posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and 16 points. Derek Murphy and Joshua Blazquez had three assists apiece.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 42-of-76 from the field for a percentage of 55.3. SEU shot 40-of-77 for a percentage of 51.9. OLLU added 41 rebounds to SEU's 40, while the Fire committed 24 turnovers, and OLLU had 17.

Up next

The Saints begin Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play at Xavier University of Louisiana on Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.