Cold Second Half Dooms SE in Road Loss

DURANT, Okla. – It was a tale of two halves as Southeastern saw its shots stop falling over the second 20 minutes as a 10-point halftime lead evaporated into an 89-85 loss to rival East Central on Thursday night in Ada, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 9-5 overall and 5-5 in Great American Conference play as SE is ready to return home where it will host Southwestern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
"Our ball movement was not as good when we started out in the second half," said head coach Kelly Green, "But when we lost Adam that really hampered us."
 
Kevin Buckingham finished the contest with 21 points to lead all scorers, while Kayo Goncalves added 15 points off the bench on the strength of ta trio of threes.
 
Ziga Zatezic got his first start and made the most of it with a career-high 13 points on the back of four threes, hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
 
"The one thing about Ziga is that he's a guard who can make plays," said Green, "Not just three pointers, but he can bounce the ball and he can pass it."
 
Adam Dworsky added 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers, while Kellen Manek and Todd Dawkins added nine points each and Jett Jobe finished with eight.
 
Jobe finished with a season-high 11 assists as he flirted with a double-double, while Dworsky dished out seven and the team finished with 20 on the contest.
 
The Storm finished the contest shooting 44.3 percent overall from the field and 48.4 percent form beyond the arc.
 
Manek led SE in rebounding with eight, while Goncalves neared a double-double with seven boards.
 
Everything was coming up Southeastern in the first half as the Storm hit 54.8 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range, draining 12-of-21 long range shots.
 
Buckingham scored the game's first four points and SE never trailed in the first half, opening the game on a 13-2 run capped by a Manek three at the 16:15 mark of the first half.
 
The Storm would lead by as many as 13 in the first half, first with 4:47 to go in the frame on a Dworsky three, and then again on a Jobe three with 1:04 remaining before settling on a 51-41 lead at halftime.
 
The second half saw a reversal of fortune for the Storm offense as SE hit 33.3 percent overall in the half and was just 3-of-10 from three.
 
The Storm maintained its edge until the 15:27 mark when SE took a one-point lead, but a Zatezic three and a Dworsky jumper answered and would push them back in front.
 
After leading by as many as six, SE saw it lead dwindle again as the Tigers knotted the game at 74-74 with 9:03 to play, but a Buckingham jumper would serve as a direct response.
 
ECU would get a bucket with 7:15 to go to take a 77-76 lead and SE did not have an immediate answer.
 
A Goncalves three with 5:07 would tie the game at 81-81, but that was as close as the Storm would get in the 89-85 loss.