Nearly two weeks without playing due to winter weather didn’t cool off Southeast Arkansas College’s offense.
The SEARK men’s basketball team returned to the court Monday night and broke its program scoring record with a 113-93 win against Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
SEARK (10-8, 5-5 Region 2) hadn’t played since a 112-101 loss to National Park College on Jan. 21 due to the winter storm which hit Arkansas later that week.
The off time didn’t stop the Sharks from scoring over 100 points for the fifth time this season. Sophomore forward Lavion Owens scored a game-high 29 points, followed by sophomore guard Amir Rosa with 28. Sophomore guard Torrey Casell scored 20, and guard Kyler Dandridge added 16.
Rosa said the Sharks’ practice gym is across the street from the residence hall, meaning the team could still practice and keep sharp despite the weather postponing games.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We knew coming out it that was just a mental thing,” Rosa said. “We prepared for this. We worked. … We were able to get into the gym, put shots up. We always play 5-on-5 just to keep, make sure that we poised and everything. So, it was just natural.”
The Sharks connected on 11 shots from 3-point range, including seven in the first half. Owens and Rosa made five apiece while combining for three traditional 3-point plays. A Deandre Thompson dunk got SEARK to the 100-point mark with just over 3 minutes to play.
UA Cossatot (8-14, 2-8) scored first, but the 2-0 lead was the Colts’ only lead of the night after SEARK answered with a 7-0 run. The Colts tied the game at 7 before two Owens 3-pointers gave the Sharks the lead back permanently.
SEARK led 51-35 at halftime and led by as much as 67-49 before the Colts tried to mount a comeback. UA Cossatot started its push with a 13-4 run which cut the deficit to 9 before Owens ended it with a 3-point play. Later, a 3-pointer by UA Cossatot guard Dylan Glover cut it to 76-67.
Two free throws from Owens and a shot by sophomore Dominick Baptiste got SEARK’s lead back to double digits, where it remained the rest of the game.
SEARK coach Chad Kline said the Sharks didn’t panic when the Colts made a run.
“When they first started pressing us, we looked a little – I don’t know if you’d call it timid or whatnot, but there was something off,” Kline said. “We ran out of all of our timeouts with 10 minutes to go left in the game. I kind of told them every time we got a media timeout, ‘Hey guys, you’re out there on your own. There’s no timeout to bail you out.’ I thought our sophomores stepped up.”
UA Cossatot guard RJ Patton led the Colts with 15 points. Four others scored in double figures, including freshman guard Devean Newton with 12.
SEARK’s next three games are on the road, starting Wednesday at Arkansas State University Mid-South.