SE Drops OT Thriller at No. 16 UCM

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Southeastern erased a 14-point second half deficit to take No. 16 Central Missouri to overtime, but saw its upset hopes come to an end when the Mules got a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds to play to hand the Savage Storm a 79-78 loss on Friday night in Warrensburg, Mo.
 
The loss drops SE to 4-2 on the year as they will be off for six days before opening a two-game road swing in Great American Conference play on Dec. 3 at Ouachita Baptist.
 
The Storm had a four point lead as the clock ticked under one minute to play in the extra session, but SE would turn the ball over on one end and allow UCM to get an offensive rebound and a put back on the other to cut the gap to 78-76 with 45 seconds remaining.
 
Southeastern would run the shot clock down on its next possession, but a three pointer was off the mark giving the Mules one final possession down by two points which opened the door for Brad Woodson to hit a three with 2.9 remaining to spoil the SE upset bid.
 
Anton Cook led the way for the Storm on offense with his third 20-point game of the season, finishing with 22 on an 8-of-17 shooting night with three three-point buckets.
 
Sami Bzai was right behind with 17 on the contest, adding a 3-for-6 effort from long range.
 
Nathan Jackson turned in his third-straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor.
 
Tyler Lonzie came off the bench top add 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting which included hitting his first three of the season.
 
The Storm shot 40.9 percent from the floor as a team, but were 28.6 percent from long range despite hitting eight threes on the night.
 
Quinton Threadgill and Lonzie led the Storm in assists with three apiece, with Cook and Bzai right behind with two each.
 
Jackson's 13 rebounds led all players on the day as SE held a 53-to-39 edge on the glass, including a 16-to-11 mark on the offensive boards.
 
Lonzie and Cook were right behind at eight boards each, while Jose Libiano added six and Bzai chipped in five.
 
Lonzie was also a force on the defensive end with five blocked shots on the night, while Jackson added two more.
 
The teams traded punches early with SE eventually taking what would match its largest lead fo the day when a Cook layup at the 14:07 mark put the Storm up 13-9.
 
The teams would trade the lead back-and-forth with the Storm again going up by four points, this time at 31-27 on a Bzai three with 2:14 to go in the half.
 
However, UCM would score seven of the last nine points in the half and SE would trail 37-33 at the break.
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half were rough for the Storm as they were outscored 24-14 as the home team extended its halftime edge to the largest lead for either team in the game at 61-47 with 10:25 to play in regulation.
 
That is when Southeastern got its offense in gear and reeled off a 14-1 run to cut the deficit down to 62-60 after Lonzie's three with 4:52 to go in the second half.
 
The Mules would keep the Storm at arm's length until a Jackson layup cued a 7-0 run that was capped by a Jackson free throw with 11 seconds to go in regulation which put SE up 69-67.
 
UCM would miss a layup on its next possession, but Marquiez Lawrence would get the tipin with two seconds to play to knot the score at 69-69.