SE Falls in First Round of GAC Tourney

BARTLESVILLE, Okla.  – Sami Bzai and Taylor Smaller combined for 52 points, but Southeastern struggled at the free throw line and was unable to overcome a three-point shooting barrage from Arkansas Tech in a 95-83 loss on Friday night in the first round of the Great American Conference Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 15-14 on the season and brings the 2014-15 season to a close.
 
Bzai finished with a season-best 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and a 5-of-11 effort from long range.
 
Smaller was right behind with yet another 20-plus point outing in his final game for the Storm, finishing with 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting with a 5-of-11 effort from three point range as well.
 
Tyler Lonzie also cracked double-digits with 11 on 5-of-8 from the floor.
 
Kyle Roberts and Quenton Threadgill each dished out a team-high three assists.
 
The Storm shot 45.5 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent as a team on 12-of-30 from three point range.
 
However, SE struggled at the free throw line where it was 11-of-23 for a 47.8 percent shooting night.
 
Darius Harris pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to lead SE to a 45-to-33 edge on the glass as a team, while Lonzie and Smaller each added seven boards.
 
The Storm trailed by as many as 16 in the second half, but a 19-7 run closed the gap to 82-78 with 3:20 to play on an Anton Cook free throw.
 
However, ATU scored the next four points to lead 86-78 with 1:36 to play and SE would be unable to get it back to one possession as the Wonder Boys hit 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the final minute to hand the Storm a 95-83 loss.
 
Bzai powered the Storm offense in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Smaller added nine points in the first 20 minutes, all from behind the arc on 3-of-4 shooting from long range.
 
The Storm shot 51.4 percent for the half, but it was ATU's 11-of-22 three point shooting performance that left SE trailing 45-43 at the break.
 
Southeastern added a 6-of-15 mark from three point range while also holding an 18-8 edge in the paint.
 
SE also held a 21-16 advantage on the boards in the first half.