MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southeastern went to throw free throw line with 0.6 seconds on the clock, trailing by two, hitting the first and missing the second to come up just shy of its first conference win of the season in a 78-77 loss at Southern Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in Magnolia, Ark.
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 1-4 overall on the year and 0-2 in Great American Conference play heading into a Thanksgiving road trip that has them facing South Dakota School of Mines at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 and Hillsdale Freewill Baptist at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 28, with both games in Rapid City, S.D.
SE got 23 points out of
Sami Bzai to lead all scorers on the strength of five threes, while
Darius Harris added 14 and
Danny Powell chipped in 13.
The Storm shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the first half to take a 40-38 lead, but could not find that stroke in the second half, shooting 33.3 percent from the field.
Defensively, the teams shot nearly even from the floor, but SAU held a 38-to-31 edge on the glass, while SE held an 18-15 edge in points off turnovers
Harris led the way on the glass with nine boards, While
Antonio Worthy added seven.
The Storm trialed by four at 78-74 with 1:46 to play, but a pair of Powell free throws with 1:29 to play would close the gap to two points.
SAU would get a shot up with 23 seconds to play and Harris would pull down the rebound, followed by a missed three from Bzai with an offensive board by Harris who was fouled in the process with 0.6 seconds left.
Harris would hit the first after an icing timeout by the Muleriders, but the second would miss its mark and the Storm would fall 78-77.
SE led for nearly the entire first half, leading by as many as nine before a late SAU rally cut the Storm lead to 40-38 at the break.
The Muleriders would eventually take the lead and hold it for the final three-quarters of the second half, but Southeastern would never trail by more than six.
The Storm would rally late with a Bzai three knotting the game at 72-72 with 4:00 to play.
SAU would score the next four points and hold its four point lead until the 1:46 mark at 78-74.
