The SCC men dropped the first two games coming out of the winter break. They lost at sixth-ranked Johnson County 74-66 on Wednesday, Jan. 13, and to Fort Scott 68-61, on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Southeast battled its way out of an early 21 point first half hole against Johnson to close the gap to 70-66 late in the game. But SCC missed an open three-pointer, and JCC scored the last four points to hold on for the win.

Head Coach Joel Wooton said the game was disappointing.

“We could never get over the hump after battling back and then see-sawing back and forth,” Wooton explained.

The coach said Johnson County benefited from playing a couple games already since the break, while SCC was playing just their first.

Another major factor was the free throw shooting discrepancy. The Storm went to the foul line twice going 0-2 in one-in-one situations, while JCC was 15-21.

“The foul situation was bad; I never saw a game like (that), “Wooton said.

Sophomore Snyder Cenecharles led the team with 22 points.

SCC led by 11 points in the first half of the Fort Scott loss, but then struggled to hit shots.

“We couldn’t hit a shot in the second half,” Wooton said. “It wasn’t what they did; it was on us.”

The coach said Fort Scott played a 2-3 zone the entire game, and SCC just couldn’t hit the shots.

“It wasn’t their defense, “Wooton added. “We hit 32 free throws against a team that played all zone.”

The Storm hit 90 percent from the foul line, with Sophomore Daniel William hitting 7-8.

Wooton said his team had to practice in the morning all week, and two long road trips in one week probably took a little toll.

He also said that two SCC players missed the game because of illness, and Fort Scott added a couple of players from the first time the two teams played, which helped contribute to the loss.

Snyder Cenecharles once again led the Storm with 16 points. Taylor Britt came off the bench to add 14.

The Storm will be back at home Friday, Jan. 22, against North Platte CC and Saturday, Jan. 23, against McCook CC.