NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers got a double-double from
Jakevion Buckley but the Southeastern Lions took the lead down the stretch and used free throws to help seal an 82-78 decision on Monday at Lakefront Arena.
Buckley finished with 28 points and 13 assists to just one turnover against his former team. He also added two blocks.
With the loss, the Privateers will play in the opening round of the Southland Tournament on Sunday.
Jaiden Lawrence made two three-pointers down the stretch with the second one giving the Lions a 73-71 lead with 2:12 left. From there, Southeastern held the Privateers to two empty possessions in succession and managed to stretch their lead to four points with 1:20 left.
The Privateers kept trading buckets for the Lions' free throws as
Jakevion Buckley scored four points and
Kedrick Osby had a driving layup in that span.
New Orleans got a lifeline when Ahmed Essahaty missed two free throws with 11 seconds remaining. The Privateers were trailing by three but a three-pointer on the other end could not connect. C.J. Booker was fouled with just under four seconds left and hit one of two free throws to give Southeastern the win.
The game was tight throughout the first half but Southeastern used a 10-2 run to take a 40-32 lead into the locker room. The Privateers were held without a field goal for the final 3:11 of the half with the only points coming at the free throw line from
Coleton Benson.
New Orleans surged early in the second half with an 8-0 run to begin that elapsed the first 1:49. The Privateers took their first lead of the second half at the 14:28 mark of the second half. From that point there were four ties and seven lead changes in the final moments of the regular season.
Jeremy Elyzee finished with 23 points to lead the Lions. Isaiah Gaines had 18 points including six made free throws in the final stretch of the game. Lawerence had 12 points on four triples.
INSIDE THE BOX
Benson finished with 21 points and five assists. He was 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Osby added 11 points and five rebounds. The Privateers had 21 assists, their single game high. In total there were 10 ties and 19 lead changes on the night.
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