The Falcons Squeak Past the Saints of Shawnee

Shawnee came out and jumped on Southeastern Illinois 5-0 and Todd Franklin had to burn a timeout. After the timeout the Falcons looked to load it inside to their go to guy Takais Brown. "He is a beast! He is tough to defend and to keep off the boards." Coach Sparks commented. Torres, Williams and Thomas combined for 25 of the Saints 35 first half points. Torres blinding speed and quickness was overwhelming for the guards of Southeastern as he sliced and diced through their defense.

Shawnee went in to the half down 35 - 40 thanks to a tip in by Mario Thomas at the buzzer. Southeastern came out the second half and looked to re-establish Brown early on the block. The Falcons pushed the lead to ten, but Shawnee battled back pulled within five. The Saints had one more run to make with 1:40 on the clock. Thomas hit a big three on scrabble for a loose ball and with two consecutive possessions. Torres pushed it coast to coast and found a fellow Saint for scores. The score was 66-60 when Shawnee made another stop and attacked Southeastern in transition and missed a lay-up. Southeastern came right back and found Josh Rivers on the wing for a wide open three, his only bucket of the second half. The score was 69-60 and the Saints were forced to foul for the final 48 seconds of the game. The final was Southeastern 71 to Shawnees' 66. Shawnees' record is 4-3 and they travel to Paducah, KY to face Western Kentucky Tech Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

STATISTICAL LEADERS:

Points: Thomas 20, Torres 15, Williams 14, & Lewis 10
Rebounds: Thomas 7, Williams 6 & Torres 5
Assists: Torres 7
Steals: Torres 4, Williams 3, & Thomas 2

See the Complete Box Score