Men's Hoops Tripped Up by UCO

DURANT, Okla. – Despite a 33 point scoring outing by Sami Bzai, Southeastern found itself on the wrong end of an 81-75 final in the finale of the GAC/MIAA Challenge against Central Oklahoma on Saturday night.
 
The Savage Storm slip to 1-1 on the year and will be back in action on Nov. 19 when it opens Great American Conference play against Arkansas-Monticello at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
Bzai finished the contest shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 7-of-10 from three-point range and added a team-high six assists and chipped in three rebounds.
 
Anton Cooks turned in 13 points on the night, while Stelios Papafloratos added 11.
 
SE shot 37.3 percent from the field, but stepped it up from long range where they hit 45.2 percent, going 14-of-31 from behind the arc.
 
Antonio Worthy led the way on the boards with eight, while Tyler Lonzie was right behind with seven, helping SE hold a 40-to-38 edge on the glass.
 
The contest featured five ties and seven lead changes, with the Storm overcoming a 13 point first half deficit to go into the break tied.
 
The Storm would go up by as many as six in the second half, but after a UCO charge were unable to mount a rally in the final minute.