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Southeastern player Caitlin Kobiske goes up for a basket during a recent home game. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat -
SE’s Jayden Bridgeman goes for a basket. Matt Swearengin | Durant Democrat
In his second season with the Southeastern men’s basketball program, Chandler Dickinson had been a relative afterthought averaging roughly nine minutes per game off the bench.
Looking for a spark, Savage Storm head coach Kelly Green inserted Dickinson into the starting lineup in a win over Oklahoma Baptist and saw enough to start him again for what proved to be a breakout performance on Saturday at Northwestern.
After scoring just 17 points in the team’s first 10 games, the 6-foot-5 forward stepped to the forefront in a huge way, setting career highs in just about every category while pumping a teamhigh 20 points in 29 minutes of action.
The end result was a 90-78 victory over Northwestern that pushed the Savage Storm to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in Great American Conference play heading into the Christmas break.
Things didn’t turn out near as well for the Savage Storm women, allowing a season-high point total in an 86-64 road loss to the Lady Rangers that saw them slip to 4-6 with a fifth straight loss.
Southeastern returns to action on the road January 4 at Harding before a weekend visit to conference-leading Arkansas Tech.
Women
Northwestern began the onslaught early, outscoring the visitors 18-10 in the opening quarter and steadily continued the offensive barrage with 23 points in the second stanza and a whopping 32 points in the third frame.
Southeastern managed 11 of 25 shooting from three point range for a solid 44 percent but was outrebounded as well as committing 22 turnovers that directly resulted in 26 Northwestern points.
Bench scoring was somewhat of a bright spot for the Savage Storm, paced by a team-high 13 points and 10 rebounds from freshman Kenzli Warden as scoring stalwart Caitlin Kobiske was saddled on the bench with foul problems throughout the game.
Kobiske managed just two field goal attempts and only three points in 16 minutes of action.
Grace Alverson reached double figures as well with 12 points, hitting four three pointers. Holli Lindley, Eryn Dolan, Brianna Wietelman and Lauren Beason each tallied six points while Aimee Alverson dished out four assists.
Men
Dickinson was one of five double figure scorers for Southeastern as they sizzled the nets for amazingly identical 16 of 26 shooting from the field in each half (62 percent).
The sophomore wasted little time in making an immediate impact with a three pointer just a minute and nine seconds into the game but Northwestern rallied to take as much as a six-point first half advantage.
Layups by Brennen Burns and Robert Briley broke a 38all deadlock and put the Savage Storm ahead at intermission.
That edge swelled to 11 immediately in the second half as Southeastern reeled off the first seven points after intermission for a doubledigit edge. It ballooned to as much as a 20-point bulge with five minutes remaining and the Savage Storm coasted in from there for their second straight victory.
Dickinson hit six of nine from the field and all six free throws while also pulling down a team-high six rebounds.
Jett Sternberger added 17 points and four assists, Kody Clouet and Kyle Leslie each tallied 15 with Burns contributing 10. Briley just missed being a sixth player in double figures, ending with eight.