SE Holds on for Key Win Over HSU

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern got a 20-point effort from Anton Cook and monster double-double from Tyler Lonzie as the Savage Storm held on for a 71-64 win over Henderson State on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts SE to 8-13 overall and 6-9 in Great American Conference play, moving them into a tie for eighth in the league standings, one game out of seventh place.
 
Cook turned in his seventh 20-point outing of the year 21 points with a trio of threes and an 8-of-12 mark at the free throw line.
 
Lonzie finished the contest with 18 points and 16 rebounds, going 5-of-9 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
 
Sami Bzai would come off the bench and add 12 points, while Nathan Jackson chipped in nine and Quinton Threadgill added eight.
 
Threadgill, Cook and Marti Fonolla each had three assists as SE had 12 as a team.
 
The Storm out-shot HSU 46.7 percent-to-32.7 percent for the game, and after a 52.9 percent performance in the first half at the charity stripe, SE was able to hold onto its lead thanks to a team effort of 15-of-16 at the line for the second half.
 
SE held a 42-to-34 edge on the boards with Lonzie's 16 rebounds leading all players, while Fonolla added seven.
 
The Storm fell behind early, but eventually took the lead, first on a Lonzie layup at the 10:22 mark of the first half and again on a Bzai layup at the 8:34 mark.
 
From that point on SE held the lead for the remainder of the half, twice leading by as many as eight points before eventually going to the locker room with a 32-25 lead thanks to a Bzai jumper just before the halftime buzzer.
 
Southeastern would never trail in the second half, but despite opening up double-digit leads early would find itself tied at 46-46 midway through the half.
 
The Reddies would tie the game twice more, the second time coming at 51-51, but a Cook jumper and a pair of Lonzie free throws would push the lead back to four points.
 
HSU would close the gap to 62-61 with 2:29 to play, but Lonzie would add three free throws on four attempts and a pair of Threadgill freebies with 44 second to go stretched the lead to 67-61.
 
The Reddies would get a three to make it one possession on their next possession, but Cook would go 4-for-4 in the final seconds to preserve the 71-64 win.