MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Southern Nazarene entered Saturday's final game of the regular season with the chance to control its on destiny for the fourth in the Great American Conference, but couldn't outlast Southern Arkansas in a 63-55 loss.
 
The loss, combined with a Southwestern Oklahoma State win at Ouachita, dropped the Crimson Storm (13-15, 12-10 GAC) to the sixth seed in the GAC Championships where they will play Ouachita.
 
SNU led by as much as six in the second half against the Muleriders (16-12, 13-9 GAC), and were up 40-39 with 8:38 left to play, but SAU went on a 19-9 run to lead 58-49 with 2:17 left. That was enough gap for Southern Arkansas as it locked up the fifth seed.
 
C.J. White le the way for the Storm with 16 points and four rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting. CJ Rodriguez also added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds.
 
Despite scoring 17 points off second chances, the Storm got outscored in the paint, 42-30, and the Muleriders' bench delivered 34 points compared to just 11 points from SNU's reserves. The Storm were held to just 33.3 percent from the field and just 6-of-30 from 3-point range. SNU also shot just 7-of-18 from the line. Southern Arkansas shot 51 percent from the field after it shot 64 percent in the second half.