Storm Fall in Exhibition at UTSA

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Southeastern put four players in double-figures and got a pair of double-doubles, but came up short of picking up a win over its second-straight Division I opponent, falling at Texas-San Antonio 92-81 on Thursday night in an exhibition contest in San Antonio, Texas.
 
Southeastern will open the regular season with game one of the GAC/MIAA Challenge on Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena against Northeastern State.
 
Tyler Lonzie turned in a massive night with 19 points and 12 rebounds, both team highs, while shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and picking up eight offensive rebounds.
 
He was joined in his double-double outing by Nathan Jackson who finished with 13 points and added 11 rebounds while dishing out a team-high four assists.
 
John Bootz was SE's number two scorer on the night as the seven-footer finished with 15 points, all from behind the arc where he was 5-of-7 form three point range.  He also added a pair of blocked shots.
 
Stelios Papafloratos rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12, hitting 3-of-7 from the floor, including a 2-of-4 effort from behind the arc.  He also dished out three assists.
 
Southeastern shot 42.2 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range, hitting 8-of-18 from long range.
 
The Storm also dominated the glass with 52 rebounds, including 24 offensive boards to compile 25 second-chance points, while UTSA pulled down 37 rebounds and added just 12 points on second chance opportunities.
 
However, SE struggled with turnovers, giving the ball away 25 times on the night compared to just eight by the Roadrunners who turned the Storm miscues into a 34-3 edge in points off turnovers.
 
Southeastern fell behind early and UTSA would slowly edge out to a lead as high as 18 points in the first half, but the Storm would rally and narrow that deficit to 48-41 at the break thanks to a Bootz three with six seconds remaining in the half.
 
A Jose Libiano jumper a minute into the second half would close the deficit to 48-43, but that was as close as the game would get as UTSA would use a 12-3 run to open up a 62-47 lead by the 14:46 mark of the second half.
 
The lead would grow to as many as 20 points by the midway point of the half, but the Storm would chip away and a Papafloratos three would end scoring in the game for the night with 15 seconds to play to set the final at 92-81.