SE Drops Home Finale vs. NWOSU

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern put five players in double-figures but it was not enough to lift the Savage Storm on Senior Night against Northwestern Oklahoma State, falling 75-72 on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 7-9 on the season heading into the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla.
 
Bobby Johnson led all Southeastern scorers in the contest with 14 on the strength of a 4-of-8 effort from beyond the arc.
 
Vadim Clanet and Jaedaun Slack each added 13 points, with Slack draining a trio of threes and Clanet adding two.
 
Adam Dworsky and Kellen Manek each added 12 points, with Manek finishing with a double-double by hauling in 11 rebounds and Dworsky dishing out eight assists.
 
Dworsky's eight assists led all players, while Manek handed out five.
 
Manek's 11 rebounds matched the game high, while Clanet was next in line with six and Slack added five.
 
After the Rangers jumped out in front early, pushing its lead out to 17-9 by the 13:01 mark of the first half.
 
A Manek three would cut into that deficit and trigger a 9-0 run to regain the lead at 19-18 on a Johnson three at the 10:44 mark.
 
That run would continue by the time Manek converted a three-point play with 8:33 to go in the half, the run had extended to 17-2, putting SE ahead 26-19.
 
NWOSU answered with the next 11 points to regain the lead would push that advantage out to 45-36 at the halftime break.
 
The Ranger lead would see-saw between five and eight points early in the second half, but by the 11:04 mark had climbed to 11 points at 60-49.
 
The Storm answered with an 8-0 run, closing the gap to 60-57 after an RJ Weeks free throw with 7:43 to play.
 
NWOSU would cut off that run and extend its lead back to seven points, but SE would chip away again, this time closing to within 69-67 after a Clanet free throw with 3:34 remaining.
 
The teams would trade threes on the next two possessions, and Southeastern had the ball down two points with 2:00 to play but was unable to convert.
 
The Rangers would convert a three-point play with 1:43 to go, and Clanet would answer with one last three with 59 seconds to play, but those would be the final points in a 75-72 loss.