Second Half Rally Lifts SE past Bulldogs

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern erased a 14-point second half deficit by shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the second half as five players scored in double-figures, lifting Southeastern to an 87-78 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Monday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win moves the Savage Storm to 16-4 overall and 11-3 in Great American Conference play.
 
"We got defensive stops," said head coach Kelly Green, "And in the first half we didn't. They shot like 60 percent in the first half and they were getting so many open shots. We were about a half step behind on everybody. I thought early in the game they drove us form the middle of the floor and caused us problems. We tried to get them over on the side where we had better help defense. RJ did an amicable job in the first half guarding Thornton."
 
"Ante did a good job." Green continued. "In the first half they were moving the ball a little bit better and in the second half they started going more one-on-one with us and they missed a couple of those shots instead of making them. One thing we did well, we held them to one shot in the second half and made it difficult for them there."
 
Adam Dworsky led Southeastern on offense, turning in his fourth-straight 20-point scoring game and finishing the night with 21 points while handing out five assists and snagging a pair of steals.
 
Ante Brzovic was next in line with 18 points and completed his seventh double-double of the season by pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Jett Sternberger came off the bench after missing Saturday's game and returned to form, finishing with 16 points with a pair of threes while going 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
 
Kellen Manek flirted with a triple-double as he put up 12 points while handing out a game-high eight assists and pulling down seven rebounds.
 
Bobby Johnson rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 on the strength of a trio of threes.
 
After the teams traded threes to open the game, SE looked to get the offense moving, jumping out to an 11-5 lead after a pair of Brzovic free throws at the 16:48 mark.
 
SWOSU would close the gap but not catch SE and the Storm would again push its lead back to six points with 14:43 to play in the half.
 
This time the Bulldogs would catch SE, taking a brief one-point lead at the 10:38 mark with the teams traded the advantage on consecutive possessions, with the Storm pushing its lead back to 25-21 with 8:30 to play in the first.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State would then put together a 22-6 run to mount a 43-31 lead with 2:28 to play in the half.
 
Brzovic would stop that run with a three, but SWOSU would answer and ultimately carry a 12-point lead to the half at 47-35.
 
The Bulldogs would open the second half by pushing that lead to a game-high 14 points, but Southeastern would chip away, cutting it to 54-47 at the 15:28 make on a Manek layup.
 
The gap would extend to 13 points in SWOSU's favor before the Storm offensive clicked into overdrive, reeling off a 25-3 run, capped by a pair of Dworsky free throws to take a 72-63 lead with 5:45 to play.
 
SWOSU would hang close, cutting SE's lead to 76-72 with 2:28 to play, but SE would score the next six points, including a dagger three from Dworsky with 1:12 to play and the shot clock winding down.
 
The Storm would hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch and hold on for the 87-78 victory.