SE's GAC Tourney Run Comes to an End

SHAWNEE, Okla. – Brennen Burns put up 22 points, but Southeastern would turn in its second-worst shooting performance of the season in an 86-72 loss to Southern Nazarene in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Shawnee, Okla.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 23-9 overall to end the season.
 
Burns would lead the way with 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting while handing out six assists.
 
Jett Sternberger would drain five threes on the day on his way to 17 points.
 
Kody Clouet checked in with 12 points but led the team in assists with seven and steals with five.
 
Kyle Leslie also added 12 points on the strength of four first-half threes.
 
Robert Briley turned in seven points off the bench and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
The Storm would shoot under 40 percent in each half, finishing the contest hitting 37.1 percent overall and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
SNU would score the first seven points of the contest, but Southeastern would bounce back strong as back-to-back Leslie threes would power a 10-0 run to take a 10-7 lead by the 14:47 mark.
 
The Crimson Storm would then put together six-straight points before SE answered with another Leslie three and a pair of Burns free throws to take the lead at 15-13.
 
The teams would trade buckets with Southeastern holding a 20-17 lead before SNU reeled off an 8-0 run to mount a 25-20 lead with 6:51 to play in the half.
 
Once again, the Storm would answer with a run, this one a 9-0 jaunt capped by another Leslie three to take a 29-25 lead.
 
SNU would follow with seven of the next 10 points to tie the game at 32-32 before Clouet would knock down a three with 58 seconds to go in the half to give Southeastern a 35-32 edge at the halftime break.
 
The Crimson Storm would outscore SE 19-7 over the first 9:42 to open up a 51-42 lead before the Savage Storm put together six-straight to narrow the deficit to 51-48.
 
SNU would push its lead back out to 12 points by the 5:58 mark, and Southeastern would fire back with nine of the next 12 points to close the gap to 66-60 with 3:58 to play.
 
Southern Nazarene would put together a 10-1 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 76-61 with 1:29 remaining.
 
A pair of Sternberger threes and a Clouet bucket would give one last push for the Storm, cutting the deficit to 78-69, but SNU would score eight of the final 11 points to make the final score 86-72.