SE Louisiana 71, Sam Houston St. 62

HAMMOND, La. (AP) Ricky Woods scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Southeastern Louisiana to a 71-62 victory over Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament Thursday.

The Lions (23-8, 15-3 Southland) will advance to the championship game against Northwestern State. Southeastern Louisiana and the Demons were regular season conference co-champions.

Jonathan Patton added 14 points for the Lions and Terry Bryant had 13.

Chris Jordan led the Bearkats (18-12, 12-6) with 15 points. Joe Thompson and Eddy Fobbs scored 14 apiece.

Sam Houston State trailed at the half by seven points, 34-27, but started the second half with a 13-6 run to tie the game 40-40. Ryan Bright's 3-pointer put the Bearkats up 43-40, but Jonathan Patton answered with two 3-pointers and the Lions never trailed again.

Southeastern outscored the Bearkats 21-13 in the final seven minutes to clinch the victory.