Alva Review-Courier -

FT. SMITH, Ark. – Southeastern put five players in double-figures and Jett Jobe connected on a buzzer-beater as it rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull off an 81-80 overtime victory over Missouri Western State on Friday night in the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic in Fort Smith, Ark.

The win lifts the Savage Storm to 2-3 on the season heading into a Saturday afternoon matchup with Nebraska-Kearney at 1 p.m.

Kevin Buckingham led the way on Friday night with a game-high 23 points, going 8-of-15 from the field with a pair of threes.

Markell Henderson and DJ Henderson each added 13 points, while Jobe and Jose Libanio turned in 10 apiece.

Buckingham, Jobe, and Adam Dworsky each dished out three assists.

Defensively the Storm held an edge on the glass of 39-to-32, led by seven boards from Buckingham, with Markell Henderson and Jove turning in five each.

Buckingham also picked up two of the team's six steals.

In a very even contest, SE held the edge in a pair of important categories by outscoring MWSU 13-3 on second chance points and 17-12 on points off turnovers.

Overall the contest featured seven lead changes and eight ties.

The contest was even early, with SE edging ahead 23-17 before the Griffons put together an 18-0 run to go up 35-23 with 2:39 to play in the first half.

A pair of Dworsky free throws would end the run and the Storm scored nine of the final 11 points, including a buzzer-beating Jobe three to close the gap to 37-31 at halftime.

SE kept chipping and would eventually tie the game at 56-56 on a DJ Henderson jumper with 4:52 to play, and a possession later lake a lead on a Markell Henderson bucket.

Southeastern would maintain a lead through the final minutes until MWSU would hit a pair of free throws with one second to play to send the game to overtime tied at 70-70.

SE took an early OT lead on a DJ Henderson free throw, but fell behind for a moment until a Buckingham three splashed home for a 74-72 lead at the 3:25 mark.

The lead grew to 79-74 on a DJ Henderson three-point play with 1:08 to play, but a pair of Griffon threes, the last at the 12 second mark, would lead the Storm down 80-79.

Jobe would get the last word though with a layup with one tick left on the clock to snag the 81-80 overtime win.