Savage Storm Cruise to 108-70 Win over Harding

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern knocked down 16 threes, shooting 59.3 percent from long range and got 32 points from Kevin Buckingham on its way to a 108-70 victory over Harding on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 16-4 overall on the season and 10-3 in Great American Conference play heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup with Arkansas Tech at 3 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
Buckingham turned in his second-straight 30-point game, posted 32 on the night in 32 minutes played, while shooting 10-of-14 overall, 4-of-4 from three-point range and 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
 
Kellen Manek followed with 20 points, his second 20-point outing in the last four games, while knocking down four threes.
 
Adam Dworsky turned in his league-leading seventh double-double of the season, putting up 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting while dishing out a game-high 10 assists.
 
Kayo Goncalves picked up his fifth double-double of the year with a 12-point scoring effort while pulling down 11 boards.
 
The Storm shot 52.9 percent overall for the contest and hit 59.3 percent of its threes, connecting on 16-of-27 from beyond the arc.
 
Buckingham exploded for 21 first-half points to lead the Storm, while Manek was not far behind with 16 in the first 20 minutes.
 
Buckingham was 8-of-9 in the half with a 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc, while Manek hit four first-half threes.
 
Overall Southeastern shot 61.8 percent from the field in the first half and 70.6 percent from three-point range.
 
The Bisons scored first, but a Goncalves three would answer and was quickly followed by a Manek three en route to a 17-4 run to open the game, capped by a Buckingham layup at the 14:38 mark of the first half.
 
HU would close the gap to five points at 28-23 with 10:36 to play in the opening frame, but a Manek three would cut off a rally and trigger an 8-0 run capped by a pair of Bobby Johnson free throws.
 
The Storm lad continued to grow, crossing the 20-point mark on a Buckingham layup to take a 50-29 lead with 2:20 to go in the half.
 
The teams would trade buckets after that, but SE would score the final seven points and take a 60-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Dworsky opened the second half with the first four points, pushing the Storm lead to 31 points.
 
The Bisons would trim the deficit back to 26 points with 14:46 to play, but a 7-0 run capped by a Johnson three-point play would extend the lead back beyond 30 points.
 
Two more times HU would close to a 26-point deficit, but after the second SE would reel off a 16-4 run capped by a pair of Buckingham free throws with 6:18 to play.
 
The Storm advantage would never again fall below 30 points, eventually growing to a game-high 38 points which would be the final difference at 108-70.