PLAINVIEW, Texas — From the opening tip and C.J. Henry's 3-pointer 15 seconds in, Southern Nazarene controlled a 55-45 win over Wayland Baptist from start to finish.
The Crimson Storm (12-3, 5-2 SAC) never trailed as A.J. Thomas led all scorers with 15 points as the senior guard went 3-for-6 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and went 7-for-7 from the line. Henry added 10 points and six rebounds while seven other Storm put points on the board. Milos Milosevic didn't miss a shot as he scored nine points.
Xavier Alexander led SNU on the boards with seven rebounds and scored five points as he started his first game since Dec. 30.
SNU shot 43.6 percent (17-39) from the field and nailed six from beyond the arc. The Storm held the Pioneers to just 26.1 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range. SNU also scored 21 points off of 17 WBU turnovers. The Storm bench also out scored the Pioneer reserves 18-2.
The Crimson Storm took an early 20-9 lead before Wayland Baptist closed the first half with an 11-6 run to make it a 26-20 game at the break. After WBU scored the first two points of the second half, the Crimson Storm took the biggest lead of the game with an 11-1 run to take a 37-23 lead less than eight minutes into the second half. Thomas hit two 3-pointers in that run.
SNU led 44-30 with 7:40 left before the Pioneers closed the gap to 46-41 with an 11-2 run with 3:08 left. WBU again got within five points on a George Williams dunk with 1:09 remaining before Thomas hit four straight free throws and Henry hit a pair from line before Alexander hit the final free throw to put the game away.
Southern Nazarene will close it's longest road stretch of the season, Thursday, with an 8 p.m. game at Oklahoma City.
