A dramatic second-half comeback wasn’t enough Monday night for Southeast Arkansas College as the Sharks’ first losing streak continues.
Arkansas State Mid-South outlasted the SEARK men’s basketball team 79-74 at H.O. Clemmons Arena to sweep the season series.
ASU Mid-South (14-11, 8-3 Region II) led 59-43 after hitting its 12th 3-pointer of the game, leading to a SEARK timeout with 13:24 to play.
The Greyhounds were on a 10-2 run and had their largest lead of the game. The score remained in the mid-teens for the next several minutes.
SEARK (15-7, 6-6) trailed 69-54 when the comeback began. Sophomore guard Tobias Prall and freshman Cayden Gibson got things started, then sophomore Derek Magwood hit a big 3-pointer. Two Gibson free throws cut the deficit to 70-68.
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With 4:05 remaining, Magwood grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and slammed it to tie the game at 70.
This was the game’s first tie since 21-21, and Mid-South had led ever since.
SEARK Coach Chad Kline said the Sharks’ defense got them back in the game.
“In the first half and early in the second half, we had so many miscommunications on defense,” Kline said.
“So, we had to dummy it down a little bit. We were trying to do some more exotic things early, and it obviously wasn’t working. I’ll give our guys credit. They were better than us. We weren’t good enough to win.”
The 16-1 run didn’t continue.
Immediately after Gibson’s tying dunk, Mid-South forward CJ Washington hit a jumper to put the Greyhounds back in front for good.
The Sharks tried to fight back but couldn’t tie the game again, with Mid-South making three of four free throws in the final 31.8 seconds.
The second half comeback was SEARK’s second 16-point run.
The Sharks used a 16-2 run in the first half to take a 21-16 lead, but the Greyhounds responded with an 8-0 run and never trailed again.
Magwood scored a game-high 29 points with Prall adding 15 for the Sharks.
Kline said Magwood played hard.
“I can’t say that about everyone on our team,” Kline said.
“That’s not a knock on anyone, but I talked to them about it at halftime. Why can’t everyone play hard? That used to be a given. Now it’s a skill. Like shooting, passing, dribbling. Why can’t we play hard all the time?”
Mid-South sophomore Darren Wallace led the Greyhounds with 20 points after making six 3-pointers.
He started the game with three early in the first half and had two more early in the second half. Washington followed with 17.
With this loss, the Sharks have lost their past three games and four of their past five after never losing consecutive games all season.
With five games remaining in the regular season, Kline said the Sharks have no choice but to bounce back.
“We gotta play the games, so do we want to lay down and just continue losing, or do we want to put the brakes to it and come back strong?” Kline said.
“We won’t quit, I can promise you that.”