SE Tripped Up by Rogers State in First Game of the Conference Challenge

BETHANY, Oka. – In the first game of the Conference Challenge hosted by Southern Nazarene, Southeastern drops game one to Rogers State 83-65 inside the Sawyer Center.
 
SE (1-4, 0-0 GAC) had three scorers reach double-figure points as the team shot 37.9 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent at the three-point line. Rogers State was red-hot shooting the ball, converting 52.3 percent from the floor, while both teams finished shooting 66.7 percent at the foul line.
 
Augusto Toledo led the blue and gold with a season-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Ethan Scott chipped in 14 with four triples, and Deondre Dunn finished with 11 points. Ethan Wilkerson led the team at the glass with eight rebounds, while Jamal Drewery dished out six of the team's 12 assists.
 
Southeastern (1-4, 0-0 GAC) concludes its stay in Bethany tomorrow with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off with Cameron.
 
The opening three minutes belonged to the Hillcats, who led 10-2, and their advantage would soon grow to 20-7 after an 8-0 flurry. Toledo got the scoring going for the Storm with a three-pointer, and Wilkerson and Chandler Dickinson followed with baskets to cut the gap to 29-16. However, Rogers State picked up the pace again through another 8-0 run to stretch its lead back to 36-16.
 
Dunn connected for his first three-pointer at the 3:25 mark in the first half and added two more points at the foul line. Scott closed out the scoring for the blue and gold in the opening 20 minutes, as Southeastern trailed the Hillcats 45-23 at the halfway point.
 
Southeastern used a fast start in the second half to cut into Rogers State's lead with Dunn and Santiago Camacho Gomez each connecting from deep. The Hillcats replied to the blue and gold with an 8-0 run to extend their edge, but SE answered with four triples – two each for Scott and Toledo – to trim the deficit to 64-49.
 
The Hillcats continued to score in bursts, rattling off eight straight points before building a 9-0 run for an 81-52 advantage. Toledo heated up over the next minute, scoring eight consecutive points, including a pair of triples, to cut the deficit to 81-60, though Southeastern would run out of time as Rogers State would go on to win 83-65.