SE Downs UAM in GAC Tourney Opener

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Second-seeded Southeastern shot 50.0 percent from the field and got a 21-point effort from Adam Dworsky to pick up a 76-59 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference tournament on Thursday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla.
 
The win is the ninth-straight for the team and lifts the Savage Storm to 21-6 overall on the season heading into a semifinal matchup with the winner between No. 3 seed Oklahoma Baptist and No. 6 seed East Central, with the semifinal matchup set for 8 p.m. on March 9.  
 
Dworsky's 21 points led all scorers as he connected on 9-of-13 shooting and handed out a game-high seven assists.
 
Kellen Manek checked in with 19 points in the effort on 8-of-12 shooting, while Kevin Buckingham turned in his 12^th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Kayo Goncalves chipped in 11 points off the bench with a trio of threes.
 
"The first one is always so hard to get," said head coach Kelly Green. "There is a lot of anxiety going in and a lot of excitement.  The season ends and then you are waiting to see who you're going to play. There are so many other things going on its just nice to get on the floor."
 
A 58.6 percent shooting effort in the second half boosted the Storm to a 50.0 percent performance for the contest while the team dished out 19 assists, led by Dworsky's seven and Jett Jobe's five.
 
Manek posted 12 first-half points on a 5-of-6 shooting effort, while the Storm as a team shot 42.9 percent from the field.
 
SE scored the first eight points of the game with Manek connecting on a jumper and a three before Jobe added a three at the 17:18 mark to go up 8-0.
 
UAM would answer and use a 17-5 run to knot the game at 17-17 with 12:11 to play.
 
Manek would provide an answer to regain the lead and trigger a 10-0 run capped by another Manek bucket with 8:11 to play to put SE up 27-17.
 
That was as large as the first-half lead would get as UAM would trim the Storm lead to 33-28 at the half.
 
Southeastern opened the second half with a 13-5 run to take a 13-point lead after a three-point play by Dworsky with 16:11 to play.
 
The Boll Weevils would again trim the lead down to five points at 55-50 with 9:20 to play in the second half.
 
The Storm would respond with a 14-3 run capped by a DJ Henderson layup in transition to push its advantage back to 69-53 with 4:44 to play.
 
UAM would close it to 12 points inside the final three minutes, but the Storm would score the final five points to pull away for a 76-59 win.