A sweep through Arkansas ran the Southeastern winning streak to three and moved the Savage Storm women into a second-place tie in the Great American Conference standings last week.
Coach Darin Grover’s club upped its overall record to 9-5 as well as league mark to 6-2 with the 69-64 triumph at Southern Arkansas and 80-70 victory over Arkansas-Monticello.
The Southeastern men ran into trouble in the second half of an 80-62 loss to Southern Arkansas but bounced back for a much-needed 62-58 win at Monticello.
Both teams return home this week for conference action against Harding and Arkansas Tech.
Women
Southeastern built a 22-point lead late in the third period and looked to be cruising to victory against Southern Arkansas but watched the hosts come storming back to narrow the margin to just one point with 2:36 remaining.
Kenzli Warden drained a pair of free throws moments later and Caitlin Ko- biske chipped in a layup with 41 seconds left for the final margin.
Turnovers nearly proved costly down the stretch for Southeastern as 14 of the Southern Arkansas points in the final frame came directly off turnovers.
The Savage Storm rolled to the big scoring advantage on the strength of nine three pointers as well as scorching 63 percent shooting from the field in the opening quarter. They also held the hosts to only nine third period points while hitting just one of 12 field goal attempts.
Kobiske powered her way to a game-high 27 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field and also yanked down seven rebounds. Warden tallied 18 points thanks largely to four treys. Abbie Barr and Ashton Hackler pitched in eight apiece.
In the Monticello contest, Southeastern rode the strength of massive scoring first and third quarters before holding off the hosts down the stretch.
The Savage Storm got off to a sizzling start again with a 24-12 lead through one period as they hit 58 percent from the field. They added another 50 percent effort in the third, sinking four of five three pointers during the 27-point barrage.
Kobiske was saddled with foul trouble most of the game and finished with just two points but Southeastern managed to get three players in double figures led by Warden’s 20 points and six rebounds.
Barr connected for 17 points, including five treys, while Holli Lindley tallied 10. Stevie Stinchcomb and Kaydrin Scott posted eight apiece.
Men
Following a solid first half against Southern Arkansas in which the Savage Storm battled to a 36-all deadlock, cold shooting after intermission proved disastrous as they were unable to keep up with the host Muleriders.
Southeastern connected on just 36 percent from the field in the second half, including only two for 10 on three pointers while also struggling at the free throw line.| Landon Condiff had a solid outing overall with 16 points, including four three pointers, but was only one of two Savage Storm players in double figures, joining Robert Briley’s 14 points and six rebounds. Elijah Hughey was just shy of that mark with nine points.
The Monticello game followed the pattern of many Southeastern conference games thus far with a tight battle down the stretch.
Coach Kelly Green’s squad was down 32-29 at the half before rallying behind five treys following intermission.
An 11-3 Southeastern run that culminated with an Ethan Wilkerson three pointer gave the Savage Storm a brief lead early in the second half before things see-sawed back and forth.
Southern took a five point edge with five minutes left but the Savage Storm answered with a Wilkerson bucket and Condiff trey to knot the game at 56 less than a minute later.
A Briley layin with just under two minutes remaining tied it again at 58 and Daniel Halldorsson gave Southeastern the lead for good with a jumper at the 1:13 mark as the Savage Storm scored the final six points of the game.
Halldorsson posted a team-high 16 points on seven of nine shooting while Briley added 11. Wilkerson narrowly missed his first double-double, tallying nine points and a team-best eight rebounds.
