RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — CJ Rodriguez had a career-high 20 points for Southern Nazarene in an 81-62 loss at Arkansas Tech.
 
With the second straight loss, the Crimson Storm (12-11, 8-9 GAC) drop back below .500 in the Great American Conference with three games left to play in league play. SNU entered Saturday a half game ahead of Arkansas Tech in sixth place and now falls a half game behind the Wonder Boys in seventh place and stays a game ahead of Henderson State. SNU's magic number to make the GAC Tournament is now two with three games left to play.
 
Rodriguez went 6-for-13 from the field and 6-for-8 at the free-throw line. Corey McCrary and Dartanyon Meggs each had 11 off the bench as Meggs also added six rebounds. The Storm were held to just 39.0 percent from the floor as they shot 23-for-59. SNU was also just 6-for-27 from 3-point range, but went 12-for-16 from the line. The Wonder Boys dominated the paint outscoring SNU 38-20 and outrebounded the Storm 43-32. ATU shot 48.4 percent from the field and buried 10 treys.
 
Southern Nazarene held early leads, but those were short lived as Tech broke a 13-13 tie with a 26-10 run to lead 39-23 with 5:14 left in the first half and pushed it to 50-26 at the half. The Wonder Boys led by as much as 28 at 57-29 in the second half. SNU came no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.