SEARCY, Ark. – Southeastern Oklahoma State falls on the road at Harding in the second meeting as the hot-shooting Bisons down the Savage Storm 95-74.
Harding shot 50.0 and better from the field and beyond the arc and had 14 triples on 58.3 percent shooting, while SE converted 40.6 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from deep. The Storm and Bisons both finished with 33 rebounds, but HU would work seven steals and force the blue and gold into 11 turnovers.
Chandler Dickinson led five players in double-digit points with 14 and had a team-high six rebounds.
Tyler Long,
Robert Briley and
Ethan Wilkerson all had 11 points, while
DJ Dill chipped in 10.
SE (10-16, 8-12) returns home for Senior Night on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. to host Oklahoma Baptist in the Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
Southeastern raced out to a 7-2 advantage behind a three-pointer by Long, but a quick response by the Bisons tied the game 7-all five minutes into the opening half. The next three minutes belonged to Harding, who heated up from deep, building a 14-0 run behind four triples to go ahead 16-7. Moments later, the Bisons knocked down two more three-pointers to extend their edge 24-9. During the stretch, SE had just two points across six minutes.
The Storm's next three points came from Dickinson, but Harding stayed on the foot with its lead growing to 32-13. Southeastern began to chip into the Bisons' lead at the end of the half with a 6-0 run. Moments later, Long connected from deep for the second time in the opening period just before the buzzer rang, as SE trailed Harding 45-29 going into the break.
Two early three-pointers by Dickinson and baskets from Condiff and Long helped keep the Storm within 15 of the Bisons through the first three minutes of the second half. However, Harding rattled off eight straight points and later extended its lead to 70-45. A three-pointer by Dill sparked a 6-0 run for the Storm, and Dill would combine with Wilkerson for another four points, 78-55. Briley chipped in six points over the next three minutes, but the gap would be too much, as Harding held its margin over SE for the remaining five minutes of the game to split the season series with an 85-74 win.
