Big Second Half Lifts SE past NWOSU

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern knocked down eight second-half threes and Adam Dworsky turned in a season-high 23 points as Southeastern pulled away with an 81-61 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 6-1 overall on the season and 3-1 in Great American Conference play heading into a non-conference matchup on Dec. 15 when SE hosts Ecclesia in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
Dworsky finished the contest shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including a 5-of-9 mark from three-point range, finishing with a game-high 23 points.
 
Jett Jobe was next in line with 18 points, including a trio of threes, while Kayo Goncalves added 13 off the bench.  Kellen Manek rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
 
Dworsky and Jobe each dished out a game-high seven assists as the Storm finished with 18 for the game.
 
Kevin Buckingham worked the boards despite having his lowest scoring output of the season, hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
The contest was truly a tale of two halves.
 
The Storm shot 38.7 percent over the first 20 minutes while the Rangers knocked in 60.7 percent of its shots.
 
The half took a sharp turn near the midway point as SE had opened up a 20-15 lead before NWOSU reeled off a 20-7 run to leave the Storm trailing by eight points with 3:43 to go in the first half.
 
Southeastern was unable to get any offense moving in the final three minutes of the half and the eight-point deficit stood as the Storm trailed 39-31 at the break.
 
SE chipped away early in the second, finally regaining the lead at 45-43 on a Dworsky three at the 14:43 mark of the second half.
 
The teams would trade buckets back-and-forth with the Rangers leading 49-48 with 13:01 to play.
 
A Jobe three would give the Storm the lead which would grow to two possessions quickly, but really took off when a Jobe three with 9:06 to play triggered a 16-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes as SE opened up a 74-56 lead on a pair of Goncalves free throws.
 
Southeastern would cruise home with the win, hitting 4-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to finish with an 81-61 victory.