TRICKY NICKS—Lions guard Dekyron Nicks (5) slashes through Central Arkansas as Bears forward Durrell Nevels (31) looks on. Nicks missed the shot but got the last laugh in a 70-62 victory.

Patrick Sullivan and Kevyn Green didn't shy away from expressing how beneficial Thursday night's crowd was to their scintillating performance against Central Arkansas.

It also didn't hurt that the Lions continued to shoot lights out from the field.

In front of the second largest crowd this season - 1,675 - the Lions extended a beautifully orchestrated sales pitch for future returns as they swamped Central Arkansas, 70-62, to garner their fourth Southland Conference win of the season.

"Oh, it helps a lot," an elated Green said of the fan support.

Green and Sullivan repaid their gracious supporters by combining for 44 points, including the Lions' first 15 of the game, in a contest in which they never trailed.

"If we get this kind of crowd every night in league play we are going to be an awfully hard out," Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said.

The win keeps the Lions (12-7, 4-2) a half-game behind Lamar, which was idle Thursday, for first in the SLC East, while Central Arkansas (12-9, 2-5) drifted further toward the bottom of the division pack.

The Lions' hot shooting was once again on display as they drilled 54 percent of their shots from the field, including 14-of-23 (61 percent) in the first half. That's a decline from their 67 percent effort against Nicholls State on Saturday, but Yarbrough isn't complaining.

"As a coach I am smart enough to realize that shooting is never owned, at best it's leased, and probably more like rent-to-owned," Yarbrough said. "You are going to have it some nights and other nights you're not. But right now we are playing with a lot of confidence."

Sullivan and Green helped spark the performance by canning 10 of the Lions' first 14 shots. Green's effort tied a career-high in points (28), while Sullivan recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

And as instrumental as Sullivan's presence was on defense - he also swatted four shots - it was his emphatic flushes on offense that kept the crowd buzzing. Sullivan used his size and athleticism to power home six dunks - he was 7-of-8 from the field - including a pair on back-to-back possessions in the first half that put the Lions up seven.

"What you are seeing before your eyes is potentially a 19-year-old who is starting slowly but surely to find his athleticism, find his body control and find his game," Yarbrough said.

Green added that at times it's hard not watch and admire Sullivan's athleticism.

"Sometimes I gave the ball up to him instead of me shooting so he could get one of those dunks because not only would that give us momentum by him scoring but it also gets the crowd into it," Green said.

The Lions fed off Sullivan's momentum and built a 13-point lead late in the first half, 32-19, on Chris Cyprian's driving layup. The lead crumbled shortly after when Central Arkansas' York Sims sank two 3-pointers in the final two minutes as the Bears closed the half on an 8-2 run. York's shots continued to fall early in the second half as his layup and 3-pointer, coupled with Nate Bowie's splash from beyond the arc, dropped the deficit to 37-35 at the 16:59 mark.

But that's when Southeastern's mojo kicked in. A Warrell Span layup, a Tavaris Nance dunk and another Sullivan throwdown erased the Bears' efforts and propelled a 13-4 run that pushed the lead back to double figures. Green kept the lead intact with 14 points during the next nine minutes and his layup with 4:12 left gave SLU a comfortable 64-49 advantage.

"(Kevyn) Green is obviously a good offensive player and we just did not match up with him size-wise and probably did not have a good enough effort to get him stopped," Central Arkansas head coach Rand Chappell said.

Central Arkansas made a brief run against Southeastern's reserves but could get no closer than eight in the final minute. The 9-0 run was quickly halted when Yarbrough sent his starters back into the game for the final 30 seconds.

UCA's backcourt duo of Sims and Bowie paced the Bears with 19 and 13 points, respectively. The guard combination made 13 of UCA's 27 shots as Southeastern held the remaining Bears to just 14-of-37 from the field.

"I think our defensive presence is excellent right now," Yarbrough added. "We were really prepared for them. We took care of one of the toughest backcourts in the league and even though we scored 70 points I really thought for 38:30 it was about our defensive intensity."

The Lions hope for another dominating home performance Saturday as they welcome Northwestern State (8-13, 4-3). The game will be televised on Cox Sports TV but since Hammond-area residents can't catch the channel, Yarbrough is hoping for another impressive crowd.

"I hope they will bring their purple and gold and green beads and have a good time and get back in here on Saturday against our friends from Northwestern State, and if they do our guys will respond," Yarbrough said.