Posted: Nov 30, 2013
Saints Drop Another Close Game Late
Seward County Community College
(4-5,)
85
Northeastern Junior College
(11-0,)
91
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Seward County Community College (4-5,) | 51 | 34 | 85 |
|
Northeastern Junior College (11-0,) | 44 | 47 | 91 |
For the fifth time this season, the Seward County Saints let a second half lead slip through their hands, losing Friday night 91-85 to Northeastern in their opening game of the Western Nebraska Classic in Scottsbluff.
Seward played well in the first half, especially on the offensive end, taking a 51-45 lead into the break. The Saints shot 54% in the first 20 minutes while holding the high flying Plainsmen to just 37% shooting.
The second half was a different story though as the Saints lost their flow on the offensive end of the floor and once again struggled mightily from the free throw line, a place which has given them fits all season. Northeastern erased the Seward lead and finished the game strong, outscoring the Saints 47-34 in the second half to come away with a 91-85 win.
The Saints shot just 31% in the second half while the Plainsmen improved to 48% shooting in the second half. Seward was miserable from the charity stripe in clutch time, going just 12 for 23 from the line, good for just 52%. The overall numbers were very comparable between the two as Seward shot 43% to Northeatern's 42% with both field goal attempts and turnovers each separated by just one. However, the free throw line was the difference where Northeastern outscored the Saints 28-21, a difference of seven in the six point contest.
Niem Stevenson had a huge game for Seward, scoring a game high 33 points and also grabbing 11 rebounds in his first career double-double. Malcolm Hill-Bey broke out of a mini-slump with 14 points while Secean Johnson scored 13 and Brian Bridgeforth had 12 for the Saints.
Seward falls under .500 once again at 4-5 and will take on the host Western Nebraska Cougars tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. Northeastern continues their hot start to the season, moving to 11-0 and will look to move to 12-0 against Cloud County at 2:00 Saturday.