Mizzou commit Danny Stephens was as advertised in this quarterfinal contest. He scored 21 of his team’s 30 in a crazy defensive battle that saw his Southeastern Suns defeat the host Macomb Bombers by a score of 30-27. Macomb won the turnover battle (10-to-11) and outrebounded Southeastern 20-19, but in the scoring desert that this game turned out to be, every point in the paint was sacred. Macomb lost that stat 14-to-8. The Suns defense was stifling and appear to slow down other teams to a crawl. It was effective here and they advance.
Southeastern (12-0) was obviously led in scoring by Stephens’s 21 on 9-of-16 shooting. He also led them in rebounds (four), blocks (three), and steals (four). The Suns shot 9-of-13 in the second half, for a 69% clip. One facet of their game that will need to improve in the semis is 3-point shooting, where they were just 1-for-7.
Macomb (11-4) was stifled from the get-go, but did manage to get one player in double figures (J.T. Jeter’s 11 points). Connor Watson added seven points and a game-high five rebounds and a team-high three assists. Macomb shot just 29% from the floor for the game, as getting open looks was difficult.
The Suns advance to face the winner of Game 16’s contest between Eureka and Farmington. They will play in Game 22, which will be held at 2:30pm. Macomb slips to the 5th place bracket where they will play in Game 20 at 10:30am in Western Hall.
Box Score
Southeastern Info
Macomb Info
Chris Derry
December 28, 2022
