Manek Joins Rebound Club as SE Cruises to 90-61 Win

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Kellen Manek joined some elite company and Southeastern put six players in double-figures as Southeastern picked up a third-straight win, downing Drury 90-61 in the opener at the Doubletree Thanksgiving Classic in Springfield, Mo.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 3-1 to open the year heading into a 3:15 p.m. matchup with Missouri S&T in game two of the classic on Nov. 24.
 
Manek came into the contest needing six rebounds to join the 500-rebound club and would finish the contest with seven, becoming the 11^th player in program history with 500 rebounds. He also recently joined the 1,000-point club and becomes just the sixth player in SE history to score 1,000 points and Haul in 500 rebounds, joining Dennis Rodman, Eric Babers, Kevin Buckingham, Urald, King, and Greg Soistman.
 
Adam Dworsky led the Storm offensively on Tuesday night, knocking down a trio of threes on his way to a game-high 19 points.
 
Jett Sternberger and Ante Brzovic were next in line with 15 points each, followed by 12 apiece from Manek and Bobby Johnson.
 
Kyle Leslie rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11.
 
In addition to scoring, Dworsky also led all player in assists with seven, while Manek dished out three.
 
Brzovic led all players on the boards, rounding out a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Manek's seven rebounds was next in line followed by Sternberger with six.
 
The Storm shot 54.5 percent for the first half and finished the contest at 46.5 percent overall from the field and hit 12-of-27 from long range to finish at 44.4 percent.
 
SE spread the scoring around over the first half as Dworsky led the way with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting over the first 20 minutes.  Bobby Johnson added eight thanks to a pair of first-half threes, while Ante Brzovic was right behind with seven.
 
Kyle Leslie, Jett Sternberger, and RJ Weeks each turned in six in the first half.
 
DU got on the board first but the teams would trade buckets over the opening minutes until a 7-0 run capped by a Manek three would put SE in front 9-4.
 
The Panthers would close the gap to two points before a 12-0 run by the Storm capped by a Leslie three would open a 21-7 lead with 11:46 to play in the half.
 
SE would hold onto its double-digit lead, pushing it out to 21 points at 37-16 after a Johnson three with 3:50 remaining in the half.
 
Drury would finish the half outscoring SE 15-8 over the final 3:26, but a Johnson three at the buzzer would give the Storm a 45-31 lead at the break.
 
The Panthers came out firing in the second half and by the 16:47 mark had used a 12-3 run to cut the Storm advantage to just five points, but a Manek three would slow the rally and leave SE up 51-43 with 16:31 to play.
 
DU would stay within two possessions over the next minute until a Manek three at the 15:31 mark would set off a 14-3 run capped by a Dworsky layup with 12:15 to play which stretched the SE lead to 69-51.
 
Southeastern would continue to pull away over the remainder of the second half, pushing the lead beyond 20 points on a Brzovic three with 8:20 to play and ultimately reaching its largest margin of the night when Leslie hit a jumper with 1:06 remaining to set the final score at 90-61.