Storm Fall despite Strong Shooting

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Anton Cook led four double-digit scorers for Southeastern, but it was not enough as the Savage Storm fell at Arkansas Tech 97-83 on Thursday night in Russellville, Ark.
 
SE slipped to 4-7 overall on the season and 0-5 in Great American Conference play heading into a 3 p.m. matchup at Harding on Saturday in Searcy, Ark.
 
Cook paced all scorers in the contest with 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a 3-of-6 mark from behind the arc.
 
Nathen Jackson and Kevin Buckingham added 14 points each, with Jackson going 7-of-9 from the floor and Buckingham hitting 4-of-4 three pointers.
 
Jett Jobe rounded out the players in double-figures with 11, while Gianpalo Riccio was just shy with nine on the contest.
 
Cook also dished out a team-best four assist, with Jobe adding three.
 
Tyler Lonzie pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Storm, while Cook added six.
 
SE shot 51.8 percent from the floor and 52.0 percent from long range, hitting 13-of-25 threes, but the defense allowed ATU to hit 55.7 percent from the floor and sent the Wonder Boys to the line 28 times where they hit 20 freebies.
 
The Storm were also bitten by a 14-to-6 turnover deficit which the home team turned into a 21-10 advantage in points.
 
The game was back-and-forth early with SE slowly edging ahead, going up 16-10 on a Riccio three at the 15:14 mark.
 
ATU answered with an 11-0 run to take a five-point lead.
 
SE would close it to a two point deficit at 26-24 with 8:04 to go in the half, but the Wonder Boys would end the half on a 22-7 run to leave the Storm down 48-31 at halftime.
 
Southeastern bounced back in the second half, cutting the deficit to single digits on a Jobe three at the 16:13 mark which capped a 15-7 run.
 
ATU would answer though and regain a double-figure lead with the Storm closing it back to 77-67 on a pair of Cook free throws with 8:52 to play.
 
That was as close as it would get as the home team would stretch its lead to 20 points again before another SE rally got to within 11 points before settling on a 97-83 final score.