DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State falls in the final seconds of its Great American Conference opener to Henderson State 74-71.
SE (2-5, 0-1) shot 44.1 percent (26-59) from the field and was 8-of-23 from the three-point line. The Savage Storm won the battle at the glass 42-to-31, but Henderson would finish the game shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Daniel Halldorsson paced the scoring for SE with 20 points and added six rebounds and four assists to his totals.
Elijah Hughey chipped in 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while
Mihailo Stijovic tallied ten with two triples.
Robert Briley led the side at the glass, grabbing eight rebounds.
After Southeastern took a 5-0 lead through a three-pointer by Stijovic to start the game, the Storm soon fell behind 10-7 following a 10-2 run by the visitors. From there, the two sides traded leads, with the Storm ahead 22-21 after a second triple from Stijovic and a layup by
Landon Condiff.
Halldorsson had the hot hand for SE over the next three minutes, providing seven points during a 10-4 run to give the Storm a 32-28 lead. The Southeastern defense tightened up in the final four minutes, allowing just two more points the rest of the half. SE took advantage on the other end, closing out the half on an 8-0, including back-to-back three-pointers by Hughey to give SE a 40-32 edge at the break.
Southeastern and Henderson State traded baskets to start the second half, and the visitors would soon cut the gap to three after a three-pointer. The Storm stayed in front through three free throws by Condiff and a triple by Halldorsson to stretch the gap to 55-51. HSU stayed on the heels of the Storm with a pair of baskets and later tied the game 57-all.
SE found its footing again through Halldorsson, who began to pull the strings, assisting a triple by
Jalen Williams and connecting on a layup to give the Storm a 62-57 advantage. The Reddies replied with a quick burst of points to grab the lead again, going ahead 68-65 with 3:14 remaining. The Storm closed the gap at the free-throw line, and a layup with nine seconds remaining by Dill tied the game 71-all. However, the deciding moment would come at the two-second mark, as HSU connected from deep to win 74-71.
Southeastern (2-5, 0-1) remains at home for a meeting with Ouachita Baptist on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m.
