Second half lifts Southeastern men to victories

Southeastern held off a late charge on Thursday and then rode a big second half rally of its own for a pair of vital men’s basketball wins at home last week to remain squarely in second place in the Great American Conference standings.

Sitting just one game back of league leader Arkansas Tech, the Savage Storm will travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, this week to begin a huge four-game road swing with games against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist.

The Savage Storm women struggled to get much going in a pair of league losses last week to remain winless in GAC action.

Women

Offensive struggles continued for the Savage Storm as they connected on only two of 16 three point attempts in a 67-52 loss to Southern Arkansas as they were outscored by 15 points from beyond the arc.

Southeastern was up 17-16 after one period and was tied 27-all at intermission before watching the visitors come alive with 40 second half points while shooting 60 percent from the field, including 27 points off of 22 Savage Storm turnovers.

Caitlin Kobiske scored 20 points on nine of 11 shooting in addition to eight rebounds while Holli Lindley added 10 points and blocked three shots.

The story was much the same in a 59-56 defeat against Monticello despite hitting 24 of 26 at the charity stripe. Southeastern however connected on only 26 percent from the field (14 of 53).

Kenzli Warden was the top scorer for the Savage Storm with 16 points and eight boards. Lindley notched 14 and Kobiske had nine points and eight rebounds.

Men

In a wild back-and-forth affair of Thursday night, the Savage Storm blew one double digit lead but managed to narrowly hold off Southern Arkansas for an 88-82 triumph.

Coach Kelly Green’s squad watched the first 10-point cushion completely slip away midway through the second half following a Mulerider run, but two Jett Sternberger free throws sparked a 17-6 Savage Storm eruption. Still now completely out of the woods, however, Southeastern needed four clutch free throws from Landon Condiff in the final 40 seconds to ice the victory.

Southern Arkansas remained in contention throughout thanks to sizzling three-point shooting as the Muleriders sank 15 treys compared to just seven for Southeastern. A strong 21 for 24 performance at the charity stripe provided the difference, however.

Sternberger poured in a season-best 23 points, hitting six of nine from the field and 10 of 12 at the free throw line. Condiff also produced a season-high effort with 18 points, including four three pointers.

Brennen Burns notched 16 points along with eight assists and six rebounds, Chandler Dickinson added 11 points with Kody Clouet and Kyle Leslie each narrowly missing double figures with nine.

Struggling offensively and down by 16 points while facing their first home loss of the conference season early in the second half, Southeastern caught fire in a massive way to rally for the 85-69 decision.

Burns was the catalyst, scoring five points as Leslie chipped in four during a wild 13-0 flurry that knotted the score at 47 in just two minutes and 18 seconds.

A driving Burns bucket in the paint at the midway point of the second half put Southeastern ahead to stay at 53-52 and the Savage Storm continued to light up the nets with 32 points the rest of the way. The Boll Weevils managed only 17.

After shooting a dismal 38 percent over the initial 20 minutes, the Savage Storm scorched the nets for 62 percent shooting after the break to fuel the comeback. They also forced a season-high 24 turnovers from Monticello.

Adding to his big week, which earned him Conference Player of the Week honors, Burns posted a season and career high 33 points to go along with seven assists. Sternberger tallied 17, Klouet added 14 with a team-best seven rebounds, while Briley tossed in nine points.

The Savage Storm improved to 10-6 overall and 6-2 in conference action.