Williams Career-High Night Lifts SE Past ECU

DURANT, Okla. – A career-high 20 points from Jalen Williams helps Southeastern defeat rivals East Central 75-71 to split the season series on Thursday night in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The Savage Storm found their rhythm early shooting the ball and finished the game converting 48.2 percent from the field, while shooting 28.6 percent from beyond the arc with six three-pointers. The blue and gold won the battle at the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 33-to-30, and forced ECU into nine turnovers.  
 
Williams led the blue and gold in scoring with 20 points and shot 7-of-9 from the field, and was perfect at the foul line (6-6). Ethan Wilkerson joined Williams in double-figure points with 16 and a team-high eight rebounds, while Chandler Dickinson recorded 13 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor.
 
SE and ECU were locked in a defensive battle in the opening ten minutes of the first half, as the Storm led 8-5 at the 15:41 mark after a three-pointer by Ethan Scott. The next four points for Southeastern came from Williams and Dickinson to keep the blue and gold ahead 12-11, but a run scored by the Tigers pushed them in front 16-14 at the halfway point of the first period.
 
The SE offense ran through Wilkerson over the next two minutes as the sophomore forward scored five straight points to regain the edge for SE, 19-16. From there, the two sides were locked at 20-20 and later 22-22 before Dickinson broke the deadlock with a triple, 25-23. SE continued its run, as Williams scored six more points to stretch it to a 9-0 flurry and force an ECU timeout at 3:13 in the half, 31-23.
 
The Tigers soon caught fire from beyond the arc in the final minutes to cut the Storm's lead down to 35-31 at the halftime break. Southeastern shot 52.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line, led by 11 points from Wilkerson and ten by Williams.
 
Saxon McWilliam and Santiago Camacho Gomez provided a burst for the Storm out of the break, as the pair combined for ten points to stretch the lead to 45-35. Dickinson extended the gap on a three-pointer to SE's largest advantage of the game, 48-37, and Williams would keep it a ten-point game with a basket at 14:45 in the half. However, a pair of triples by the Tigers helped close the gap to the Storm and eventually pulled within five, 55-50.
 
Southeastern answered back with a 7-2 burst capped off by a three-pointer by Augusto Toledo to grow its lead back to double digits, 62-52. ECU continued to apply pressure on the blue and gold with a 5-0 run followed by another five straight points to slice the Storm's advantage to 66-62. SE replied with a pair of baskets and added to its lead at the line, and would have to fend off a late charge by the Tigers to secure the win, 75-71.
 
SE (6-16, 5-11 GAC) continues its home stand on Saturday, when No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist visits Bloomer Sullivan Arena at 3 p.m.