SE Claims Share of GAC Title with Win in Season Finale

DURANT, Okla. – For the second time in three seasons Southeastern has earned a regular season Great American Conference Championship, locking up the 2023-24 title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a 93-89 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 22-8 overall on the season and 18-4 in league play heading into the GAC tournament where they will open play on March 7 in Shawnee, Okla., versus Southern Arkansas at 5:45 p.m.
 
Saturday was also senior day for a foursome of Storm players in their final home contests, as Kody Clouet, Kyle Leslie, Jett Sternberger, and Enzo Silveira were recognized in a pregame ceremony.
 
While it was senior day, it was a pair of under classmen who led the charge in Brennen Burns and Robert Briley who each turned in 20-point outings.
 
Burns led the way with 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting overall and was bolstered by a 13-of-15 effort at the free throw line. He would also hand out a game-high seven assists and snag seven rebounds.
 
Briley looked to be channeling former Southeastern All-American Dennis Rodman as he put up 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and hauled in a game-best 15 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass.
 
Leslie would hit a pair of threes and finish with 14 points, while Clouet added 12 and Sternberger turned in 10.
 
Landon Condiff just missed double-figures with nine.
 
The teams traded punches out of the gate, with SE slowly pushing its lead to 16-10 by the 15:15 mark.
 
The lead would hover near there until a Ranger run would chip away and see them take a 32-31 lead with 7:44 to go in the half.
 
A Burns bucket would quickly put the Storm back in front and that lead would again stretch to six points by the 4:19 mark, but as SE enjoyed a five-point lead with 1:52 to play, it would see NWOSU reel off a 7-0 run to end the half with the Rangers holding a 52-50 lead.
 
Northwestern Oklahoma State would push their lead to as many as four points early in the second half, but SE would finally get its groove back and a Sternberger bucket at the 14:33 mark would put SE in front again at 61-60.
 
The lead would then change on five-consecutive possessions, and SE would find itself trailing 69-67 with 10:00 to play.
 
SE would thrice pull ahead, and all three times NWOSU would answer and tie the game, the last of those coming at the 4:20 mark.
 
Burns would take the next possession and convert a three-point play to take the lead for good as the Storm would go 8-for-8 at the free throw line and three huge Briley offensive rebounds in the final 3:23 to survive with the 93-89 victory.