DURANT, Okla. – Cold shooting late in the first and second half slows Southeastern Oklahoma State in a 74-68 defeat at home to Southwestern Oklahoma State.
The Savage Storm struggled to get going from beyond the arc, converting 4-of-14 and finishing the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-59) from the field. SE won the battle at the glass 37-to-35, but SWOSU would go 14-of-19 at the foul line compared to the Storm's 11 trips.
DJ Dill led the scoring with 19 points, while
Landon Condiff and
Santiago Camacho Gomez each chipped in 14.
Robert Briley saw 12 points for a double-double, adding a team-high 10 rebounds and had four blocks.
Southeastern held a 9-3 lead through five points by Condiff, including a three-pointer, and the Storm would keep up the pace with back-to-back baskets by Briley to stretch the advantage to 13-4. Briley continued to have the hot hand, connecting on another pair of buckets, and Dill would chip in a layup for a 21-9 lead at the first media break. However, the Storm began to cool off, allowing the Bulldogs to close the gap on an 8-2 run to make it 23-17.
SWOSU stayed on the heels of the Storm with another pair of baskets and heated up from deep, with back-to-back triples to help take the lead 31-27 after a three-minute scoreless run by SE. A layup by
Ethan Wilkerson broke the Southeastern scoring drought, followed by a three-pointer by
Tyler Long, put the Storm back in front. Southwestern would reply with two late baskets from deep just before the buzzer to carry a 37-34 lead into halftime.
Following an early three-point play by SWOSU to open the scoring in the second half, Southeastern would own the next six and a half minutes, building a 19-0 run. Two free throws by Condiff sparked the burst, and Gomez provided the next ten points to push SE ahead 53-40. Similar to the first half, Southwestern responded with a burst of points to cut the Storm's lead to three and later took the lead on a 6-0 run, 56-54.
The Bulldogs continued to score in bunches, stretching their edge to 64-55, but five straight points by Condiff kept SE within four. A pair of layups from Dill with 22 seconds left in the game trimmed the visitor's advantage to three, but the Bulldogs would close out the game 5-for-6 at the free-throw line to win 74-68.
Southeastern (3-9, 1-5) heads to the Natural State on Thursday, Jan. 9, for a meeting with Southern Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. in the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
