DURANT, Okla. – Despite a 22-point night from Anissa Pounds and a 11-point effort from Kelsey McClure, the No. 22 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (20-6, 16-6 Great American Conference) was unable to overcome a big free-throw shooting night by Southeastern Oklahoma (17-9, 15-7), falling 71-63 on Saturday at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.

NEXT UP
The Golden Suns open play at the 2016 Great American Conference championship tournament as the No. 2 seed, facing off against No. 7 seed Ouachita Baptist on Thursday, March 2. Tip-off is set for noon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game started at a deliberate pace, with the teams tied at 4-4 at the first-quarter media timeout (4:10 remaining).
• Tech came out of the media timeout and went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead by the score of 10-4 with 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter.
• The Savage Storm quickly snapped the Tech run and went on a 9-0 run of their own to claim a 13-10 lead with 13.5 seconds to play in the quarter.
• Southeastern extended its run to 11-0 with the opening bucket of the second quarter, and after the run was interrupted by a Tech basket, the Savage Storm scored the next five points to open up a 20-12 lead with 8:08 to go until halftime.  
• Arkansas Tech rallied, pulling to within two (23-21) on a 3-pointer by Kelsey McClure with 5:29 to play in the half, and cut the deficit to one (25-24) on a D'Rae Tullock 3-pointer at the 3:58 mark.
• Southeastern closed the half on a 9-0 run to claim a 34-24 advantage at the break.
• The Savage Storm pulled ahead by 12 (36-24) in the opening minute of the third quarter, but an Anissa Pounds 3-pointer at the 6:57 mark pulled the Golden Suns to within seven (36-29).
• Tech continued to close the gap, eventually pulling ahead 40-38 on a 3-pointer by Anissa Pounds with 4:01 to go in the quarter.
• A 3-pointer on the subsequent possession by Taylor Ely ran Tech's run to 14-0 and gave the Golden Suns a 43-38 advantage with 3:38 remaining in the quarter.
• The Savage Storm answered with five quick points to knot the game at 43-43 with 2:34 to play in the quarter.
• SE ran its run to 7-0 to claim a two-point (45-43) advantage, but Tech knotted the game on a D'Rae Tullock jumper with 1:24 to play in the third quarter.
• Southeastern Oklahoma reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws, and the Savage Storm took a 47-45 advantage into the fourth quarter.
• Southeastern Oklahoma controlled the first minutes of the fourth quarter, claiming a seven-point (54-47) lead with 7:48 to play.
• The Savage Storm continued to push ahead, taking their lead into double figures (61-50) with 4:04 to play and holding the Golden Suns at arm's length the remainder of the way.

NOTABLES

• Southeastern Oklahoma held a 42-36 advantage on the rebounding glass, and outscored the Golden Suns 8-7 on second-chance points.
• Arkansas Tech was whistled for 28 fouls to Southeastern Oklahoma's 10, giving the Savage Storm 31 more opportunities from the charity stripe than the Golden Suns were afforded. Southeastern made the most of those chances, connecting on 28-of-37 free throws while the Golden Suns were held to 3-for-6.
• The Savage Storm held a 42.2 to 34.7 percent advantage in field goals, however, the Golden Suns took 27 more shots than the Savage Storm (72 attempts for Arkansas Tech to 45 for Southeastern).
• McClure led Arkansas Tech with nine boards, while Cheyenne North added eight.
• Tech held a 24-16 advantage in points in the paint, a 13-7 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 6-0 advantage in fast-break points.