DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State outscores Arkansas-Monticello 40-22 in the opening half on its way to a 71-57 win over Arkansas-Monticello in the Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
The Savage Storm ended the game with a 46.2 percent (24-52) mark from the field and had 12 three-pointers on 42.9 percent shooting from deep. SE dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 42-to-29, but the Weevils would hold the edge in the turnover battle 7-to-14.
DJ Dill paced the scoring for the blue and gold with 21 points and tied for a team-high four triples with
Chandler Dickinson, who chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds.
Landon Condiff saw 12 points, and
Robert Briley recorded 10 points and nine rebounds.
Santiago Camacho Gomez would dish out a team-high five assists and tie for a team-high nine rebounds with Briley.
The top-scoring defense in the GAC proved problematic through the early goings for the Savage Storm, who were held scoreless in the first four minutes of the game. During this stretch, the Weevils built a 10-0 run, which was eventually ended by a three-pointer from Condiff. SE found its momentum off the Condiff triple, with Dill knocking down a three-pointer to help Southeastern close the gap to 10-8. The blue and gold picked up the pace through Condiff and Dickinson to tie the game 12-all, and from there, it was all Southeastern.
The scoring ran through Dill over the next three minutes, as the freshman guard knocked down back-to-back triples and later added his third of the game on a 15-0 run, which the Storm would make four triples to go ahead 27-14. SE stayed hot from the perimeter, with Dickinson and Condiff draining another pair of three-pointers to stretch the SE advantage, and Dickinson would connect from deep one more time before the buzzer to take a 40-22 lead into halftime.
Southeastern picked up where they left off in the first half and opened the second stanza on a 6-0 after four straight points by Dickinson to push its lead to 46-22. From there, the two sides traded baskets, and Dill would eventually extend Southeastern's gap to 25 on a three-point play, but the Weevils would reply with five straight points.
UAM soon dialed in from deep to make back-to-back triples to put some pressure on Southeastern as the Weevils trimmed the Storm's lead to 11, 62-51. Four points from Briley and another two from Camacho Gomez stretched the gap back to 16, which would hold for the final minute and forty-one seconds of the game to secure the win.
Southeastern (7-14, 5-10) remains at home for a Saturday matchup versus Southern Arkansas, as the Storm look to even the season series at 3 p.m. in the Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
