Saints end first half with a 82-79 loss to Fort Hays Tech Northwest

LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward County Community College men's basketball team fell to the Fort Hays State Northwest Tigers, 82-79, on Saturday at the Greenhouse.

The Saints suffered their sixth loss in seven games and ended their first-half schedule at 2-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play. The Saints head to break and do not play again until Saturday, January 4 at Colby. The next home game is at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8 in the Greenhouse.

The game was a microcosm of Seward's first-half season. The Saints led by as many as 12 in the first half, but then let the lead slip away, down 36-34 at the half. Seward made another run and opened a 61-54 advantage with 11:43 left in the second half.

The Saints relinquished the lead and were outscored, 24-9, and trailed 78-70 with four minutes left in the half. Seward did have a chance to tie in the waning seconds with Carlos De Mata making a steal, but Dekwon Brown's three-point shot bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer.

Brown led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, including 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, and five rebounds. Lovasoa Andriatsarafara, who returned from injury, added 13 points and Kiku Parker chipped in with 11 points, five assists and four steals for the Saints.

Kaklik Sharpe had 16 points, John Troolin added 14 points and Marquintez Dixon scored 13 for the Tigers, who snapped a nine-game losing streak, improving to 2-9 overall and 1-7 in the Jayhawk Conference.