A youth-laden lineup and rugged early slate of games in an opening road trip to Minnesota were not a good combination for the Southeastern men’s basketball team last week in a pair of losses.
Coach Kelly Green’s squad will hope the home court of Bloomer Sullivan Arena is a bit more friendly as they begin a six-game homestand on Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. battle against Dallas Christian.
The Savage Storm showed good fight in the first half while shooting 44 percent from the field but were outscored 51-34 in the first 20 minutes.
Although they caught fire with six second half three pointers on the way to 47 points, Southeastern had little answer for the nationally ranked Minnesota-Duluth offense. The hosts poured in 64 points after intermission on the way to a 115-81 triumph.
Youth was definitely in abundance as Southeastern’s top three scorers were all first-year freshmen with Caddo product D.J. Dill notching a team-high 16 points on five of 13 shooting to lead the charge.
Mihailo Stijovic tallied 13 points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes while saddled with foul troubles. Ethan Wilkerson pumped in 11 points, including four of five shooting from the field, before fouling out in the second half.
Santiago Camacho-Gomez sank a pair of three pointers while also reaching double digits with 10 points. Robert Briley contributed nine, Daniel Halldorsson and Landon Condiff each tossed in eight points while Elijah Hughey and Jalen Williams added three apiece.
The Savage Storm hung together, sporting the lead 10 times in a backand- forth showdown but didn’t have quite enough at the end for a 77-69 defeat against Minot State.
Despite shooting only 33 percent from the field before the break, Southeastern trailed by only a 29-27 margin.
They increased their shooting percentage exponentially in the second half, sinking 48 percent of their shots but Minot State also caught fire themselves with 56 percent shooting that included eight three pointers.
Dill had a huge performance offensively, connecting on 10 of 17 shot attempts, including a teambest three treys en route to 25 points. Halldorsson also got free for 13 points on six of 15 from the field while adding seven assists at the point.
Camacho Gomez tossed in nine points with Andrija Brzovic adding seven, Condiff scored six and Stijovic powered through five points. Briley and Hughey contributed two points each.