Storm Grab Share of GAC Lead with Win over ATU

DURANT, Okla. – Brennen Burns and Jett Sternberger dropped 16 points apiece as Southeastern erased a nine-point deficit over the final nine minutes to pick up a 70-66 win over Arkansas Tech and earn a share of the top spot in the Great American Conference standings.
 
The Savage Storm improve to 14-7 overall on the season and 10-3 in league play, pulling into a tie with the Wonder Boys who slip to 14-5 overall and 10-3 in GAC play.
 
SE will be back on the court for a 3 p.m. matchup with Harding on Feb. 3 back in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
Burns turned in his 16 points by earning his way to the free throw line where he finished 10-of-13, while Sternberger got to his by knocking down four threes, three of them in the second half.
 
Kyle Leslie joined the duo in double-figures with 11 points, hitting a pair of threes.
 
Robert Briley just missed double digits with nine on 50 percent shooting, while Kody Clouet ended the night with eight and fell short of double-figures for the first time in five games.
 
Burns would dish out a team-high five assists to pace the Storm offense, while Briley added four.
 
On the glass, Southeastern held a 36-to-32 advantage on the boards, including picking up 15 offensive rebounds.
 
Leslie led the Storm on the glass with eight rebounds, while Burns and Briley each pulled down seven.
 
SE would get on the board first with a Leslie three and an 8-3 run out of the gate would give the Storm a five-point lead which would match its largest of the night.
 
ATU responded with a 12-3 run to push out to a 15-11 lead with 11:11 to play in the half.
 
Landon Condiff would answer with a three and the teams would trade seven ties and seven lead changes before finishing the first half knotted at 30-30.
 
That trend would carry into a slow-moving start to the second half until the Wonder Boys broke a 34-34 tie with an 8-2 run, eventually pushing its lead to 54-45 with 8:39 remaining in the contest.
 
Burns would score the next four points to get the momentum moving in the other direction and the Storm would chip away, closing the gap to 62-61 on a Briley free throw with 4:18 to play.
 
After an ATU bucket pushed the deficit back to three points, Sternberger would connect on a three to tie the game at 64-64 with 3:24 to play.
 
After a Wonder Boys miss, Burns would convert on the offensive end and draw the foul, converting the three-point play and giving the Storm a 67-64 lead with 2:37 remaining.
 
A pair of free throws would close that gap to one point with 2:05 remaining, but SE would go 3-of-4 at the free throw line while holding ATU to 0-for-4 shooting over th4 final two minutes to preserve the 70-66 win.