Second-half surge lifts Falcons to exhibition win

The Southeastern Illinois College men's basketball team outscored the West Kentucky Community and Technical Stars 60-47 in the second half en route to a 98-87 win Tuesday night in Paducah.
The Falcons trailed 40-38 at halftime before they came alive in the second half. Freshman Alex Pantellic (Belgrade, Serbia) scored 19 of his team-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the Falcons' rally. Sophomore wing Winslow Martin (Carbondale) hit three 3-pointers and added 14 points, four assists and three steals. Freshman guard Taye Calloway (Morganfield, Kentucky) had 14 points and three assists off the bench.
Redshirt sophomore Randy Crittendon (Ozark, Alabama) turned in an impressive stat line with 11 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks. Freshman Ian Torrey (Portageville, Missouri) had 12 points, sophomore DeMaria Nance (Cadiz, Kentucky) added 10 points and Sam Swinford (Marion) had eight points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds.
Freshman 6-foot-9 forward Nemanja Tosic (Belgrade Serbia) had five points and freshman 6-foot-8 forward Arnaud Nkusi (Rwanda, Africa) chipped in two points to round out the Falcons' scoring.
The game was back-and-forth all night. The Falcons pulled away with a couple of key late baskets from Pantellic, Martin and Torrey. A football pass from Swinford to Torrey for a layup on a full-court inbounds play and a three-point play from Martin with less than two minutes to play sealed the win.
"I'm really proud of how we played down the stretch," SIC interim head coach Riley Swinford said. "This is a team that only won one game last season. We showed poise beyond our years. Our six sophomores didn't play in many games like this last season and for our five freshmen, it was their first real taste of college basketball."
SIC hit 12-of-28 3-pointers, but went just 14-for-29 at the free-throw line in the win. SIC out-rebounded the Stars 46-43. The Stars were just 4-of-15 from 3-point range and had 20 turnovers. WKCTC was 29-for-36 at the free-throw line.
Dre Smith and Marshan Morrisey combined for 41 points to lead the Stars, who are coached by Michael Chumbler, in scoring.
This was the final preseason tuneup for the Falcons, who also picked up a win at Elgin Community College and won a preseason jamboree during the preseason slate. SIC will officially open the regular season Monday night at Earle C. Clements Academy in Morganfield, Kentucky. The Falcons also travel to Bethel University on Nov. 7 and Campbellsville University on Nov. 13 before hosting Kaskaskia in their home and conference opener on Nov. 14.
"We will definitely put a better product on the floor this season," Swinford said. "I'm excited for our fans and the community to see how much we've improved from last year. I encourage everyone to come out and take a look at this year's team."