Okafor lifts SE Louisiana by McNeese St. 71-68 in Southland

KATY, Texas (AP) — Gus Okafor matched his career high with 26 points and eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana narrowly defeated nine-seed McNeese State 71-68 in the Southland Conference tournament first round on Tuesday.

The Lions face New Orleans in the second round on Wednesday.

Isiah Kirby had 14 points for Southeastern Louisiana (8-17). Keon Clergeot added 10 points. Nick Caldwell had 4 points and 13 rebounds.

Carlos Rosario had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Cowboys (10-14). A.J. Lawson added 12 points and seven assists. Chris Orlina had 10 points.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com