Sam Houston Bearkats at SE Louisiana Lions
· SOUTHLAND MEN'S TOURNAMENT - SEMIFINAL
79 - 89
Veal, SE Louisiana beat Sam Houston St. in Southland semis
Veal became Southeastern's career leader with 439 assists, moving past Leo McClure (433 from 1973-77).
Eddy Polanco added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists for the top-seeded Lions, who have won nine in a row overall and snapped a seven-game skid against the Bearkats.
The Lions (22-10) will play third-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the championship game on Saturday. Southeastern beat the Lumberjacks 73-62 on Dec. 28 to open conference play in the only other meeting between the teams this season.
Sam Houston State's Marcus Harris was called for a technical foul for arguing a foul call will seven minutes left and then Bearkats coach Jason Wooten was assessed another technical for disputing the first technical. Veal hit all four technical free throws, then hit both ends of the 1-and-1 for the original foul on Harris to give the Lions the lead for good at 68-63. Cameron Delaney's 3-pointer pulled the Bearkats within one with five minutes to go, but Southeastern scored 13 of the next 15 points to make it 83-71 with 47 seconds remaining.
John Dewey III led fourth-seeded SHSU (19-14) with 15 points, including four 3-pointers. It was the most points allowed this season by the Bearkats, who ranked first in the conference in scoring defense (67.4), field-goal percentage defense (42.8) and 3-point field-goal percentage defense (30.7).
Southeastern shot 53 percent from the field, hitting 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from 3-point range.
How can I watch Sam Houston vs. SE Louisiana?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 79 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:13 | Eddy Polanco Defensive Rebound. | 79 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:13 | John Dewey III missed Three Point Jumper. | 79 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:16 | Eddy Polanco made Free Throw. | 79 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:16 | Eddy Polanco made Free Throw. | 79 - 88 |
Statistics
 SHSU |
 SELA |
|
|---|---|---|
| 26-58 | FG | 25-47 |
| 45 | Field Goal % | 53 |
| 10-23 | 3PT | 11-23 |
| 43 | Three Point % | 48 |
| 17-21 | FT | 28-35 |
| 81 | Free Throw % | 80 |
| 32 | Rebounds | 29 |
| 11 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 21 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 14 | Assists | 16 |
| 8 | Steals | 1 |
| 0 | Blocks | 1 |
| 9 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 9 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 2 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 2 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 9 | Points Off Turnovers | 16 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 2 |
| 24 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 23 | Fouls | 17 |
| 2 | Largest Lead | 16 |
Game Information
Location: Katy, TX
Capacity:
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 17-3 | - | 26-8 |
| Sam Houston | 13-7 | 4 | 22-12 |
| Louisiana Tech | 11-9 | 6 | 20-14 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-9 | 6 | 18-14 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-9 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Kennesaw State | 10-10 | 7 | 21-14 |
| Jacksonville State | 10-10 | 7 | 15-17 |
| New Mexico State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-16 |
| Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-18 |
| Florida International | 8-12 | 9 | 15-17 |
| UTEP | 7-13 | 8 | 11-20 |
| Delaware | 6-14 | 11 | 10-21 |
2025-26 Southland Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen F. Austin | 20-2 | - | 28-6 |
| McNeese | 19-3 | 1 | 28-6 |
| UT Rio Grande Valley | 14-8 | 6 | 19-14 |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 13-9 | 7 | 18-15 |
| LSU New Orleans | 12-10 | 8 | 15-18 |
| Nicholls | 12-10 | 8 | 14-19 |
| Houston Christian | 8-14 | 12 | 12-20 |
| Northwestern State | 8-14 | 12 | 10-22 |
| Incarnate Word | 7-15 | 13 | 12-19 |
| Lamar | 7-15 | 13 | 12-19 |
| East Texas A&M | 6-16 | 14 | 11-21 |
| SE Louisiana | 6-16 | 14 | 9-22 |