Cold Shooting Night Spoils SE Rally in Loss

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – After erasing a 16-point second-half deficit the Southeastern offense ran out of gas down the stretch as Southwestern Oklahoma State would answer and hand the Savage Storm a 65-47 loss on Thursday night in Weatherford, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 4-6 on the year in Great American Conference Western Division play heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup with Oklahoma Baptist at 4 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
 
"Between not making shots," said head coach Kelly Green, "And turning the ball over I think we've covered the plethora of things you can do poorly on offense. They get in that little zone and then they get out of it and we were never quite certain."
 
"We didn't get good performances by numerous guys," Green continued. "You've got to give Southwestern credit. They got out and they defended us a little better than they've shown in the past and they had us confused and we've got to do better. They gave us opportunities. They gave us numerous opportunities to get back in it."
 
Kellen Manek match ed SE's high in points with 10 in his return to the lineup after missing eight games, hitting 4-of-9, including a pair of threes.
 
Vadim Clanet also added 10 points on a nearly identical shooting performance.
 
Adam Dworsky was held short of double-figures for just the second time this season, finishing with seven points, while Adam Nance chipped in seven as well.
 
Dworsky, Clanet, and Manek each dished out three assists.
 
Dworsky's eight rebounds led all players, while Clanet hauled in seven.
 
SE was cold from the field, hitting 29.8 percent from the floor overall and 24.3 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The teams played a somewhat back and forth game early before SWOSU reeled off seven-straight points near the midway point of the first half to take a 19-10 lead with 9:58 to go in the frame.
 
Back-to-back threes from RJ Weeks and Clanet would trim that deficit to three points with 7:53 to go in the first, but by the 3:37 mark of the half it was back to a nine-point advantage.
 
A Clanet three would trigger a run in the final three minutes for the Storm as they would score the next seven points before settling on a 30-26 halftime deficit.
 
The Bulldogs poured it on to open the second half and by the 15:00 mark of the second half had extended its lead to 42-26.
 
Manek would finally end a 5:47 scoreless spell to open the second half with a hook shot that would trigger a 21-4 run over the next 6:28 that was capped by a Manek three to give the Storm a 47-46 lead with 7:45 to play.
 
However, the Storm would find itself going scoreless over the final 7:45 as SWOSU finished the game on an 19-0 run to fashion the 65-47 final score.