Coaches talk all the time about young teams learning how to win and that has definitely been the case for the freshman- laden Southeastern men’s basketball team this season.
Three straight home games went right down to the final possession, including last Thursday, with the Savage Storm coming out on the short end of narrow defeats.
Undeterred, Coach Kelly Green’s squad finally got the plays to go its way when it mattered most on Saturday as they held off Ouachita Baptist, 82-80, for their initial conference win.
“It sure seemed like the last 30 seconds took forever,” Green admitted afterward. “We were fortunate. We’ve got guys trying to figure things out on the fly and got rattled again, but we found a way to finally get through it. These young guys are trying hard and fighting through adversity. They needed to have a little success because it’s been tough. We are just learning how to win and learning every possession matters. We’re going to continue to get better though. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
The Savage Storm was up by 10 midway through the second half and still led by seven points with two minutes remaining when things began to unravel, similar to the three previous defeats which had all been decided by three points or less.
Southeastern missed six free throws and turned the ball over four times in the closing two minutes but Jalen Williams and D.J. Dill each sank one charity toss – the final of which came with 17 seconds left – and they held on for dear life.
Ethan Wilkerson drew a massive charge with 37 seconds remaining to briefly squelch the visitors, but the Tigers got off four potential tying or winning shots in a frantic final 10-second sequence. All were off the mark to give the youthful Savage Storm the much-needed win.
Caddo product D.J. Dill was pivotal on the offensive end down the stretch for Southeastern, pouring in a season-high 25 points while also pulling down eight rebounds. He connected on seven of 11 field goal attempts, including three treys.
Three others also reached double figures offensively as the Savage Storm sank an even 50 percent from the field, including 53 percent while drilling nine three pointers.
Robert Briley was also on the verge of a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds in the paint. Daniel Halldorsson tossed in 12 points and seven assists with 10 points also coming from Landon Condiff. Seven- foot freshman post Mihailo Stijovic tallied nine points and seven boards as well in just 12 minutes of action before leaving with an injury.
It was a similar story in a 7471 loss to Henderson State on Thursday as Southeastern led for much of the second half, including a 10-point edge just after intermission.
The visiting Reddies slowly trimmed away at the margin, eventually going in front in the closing minutes. A spectacular, acrobatic bucket by Dill tied the score at 71 with nine seconds left before Henderson State canned a game winning three with just two seconds on the clock for the win.
Halldorsson, another freshman, was the offensive catalyst with 20 points with Elijah Hughey chipping in 11 and Stijovic adding 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Savage Storm return home for a pair of games next week to close the first semester with Northwestern on Monday and Southern Nazarene Thursday night.
