The offense faltered in the second half Saturday afternoon as Southeast Arkansas College dropped its first conference home game of the season.
Arkansas State University-Newport slipped past SEARK 76-73 at H.O. Clemmons Arena for its first conference win.
SEARK (6-4, 1-1 Region 2) scored 43 points in the first half but managed only 30 in the second half to finish with its lowest point total in any game this season. Sophomore forward Lavion Owens, SEARK’s leading scorer, finished with 27 points after scoring 19 in the first half.
Head coach Chad Kline said the Aviators held Owens in check after halftime.
“It was hard to get him the looks we got him in the first half,” Kline said. “The key to the whole game is we couldn’t get a defensive rebound. Every time they shot and missed right off the jump, they got second, third, fourth changes. We still had a chance at the end. We had, what, a 12-point lead and felt like we had them at distance.”
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ASU Newport (4-6, 1-1) trailed the entire second half until freshman guard Matayo Rivers tied the game at 68 in the final minutes. Owens gave SEARK the lead back momentarily, but Rivers hit a 3-pointer to give the Aviators their first lead of the half, then added a 2 to make it 73-70 with 1:33 to play.
SEARK tied the game at 73 before Rivers put Newport in front for good with a free throw. The Sharks had a look at the rim in the final seconds but couldn’t finish the shot before fouling with 4.8 seconds remaining.
After Newport freshman Braylin Green hit two free throws, the Sharks called timeout to draw up a play. Sophomore guard Cadell Wallace ultimately shot a half-court shot that bounced off the rim, which Kline explained was an adjustment from the original play design.
“We had a play drawn up, but I heard their coach saying they wanted to foul right when we caught it,” Kline said. “So, I told Wallace, if they reach in to foul, heave that thing so we can get three free throws. I thought they reached in to foul us. We didn’t get the call, and there it was.”
The game opened with both teams shooting 3-pointers as SEARK pulled in front 10-6. The Aviators retook the lead with a 6-0 run, starting a back-and-forth trend throughout the first half. Newport led 32-30 at the under-4 media timeout, but the Sharks finished the half strong thanks to several forced turnovers and three 3-pointers by Owens.
SEARK led 43-37 after a first half which featured 11 lead changes. SEARK led by as much as 58-45 in the second half before the Aviators began their comeback.
Owens’ 27 was a game high. SEARK sophomore Amir Rosa finished with 19 points, and freshman Jordan Allen scored 19.
Newport freshman Quentin Dabney led the Aviators with 16 points, followed by freshman Amir Parrimon with 14.
Rivers finished with a career-high 13 points, all scored in the second half. All but 3 of those points came after the final media timeout. He entered the game averaging 3.5 points per game.