BETHANY, Okla. — Most people can only dream of the chance to be in the situation to put your team on your back and hit the game-winning shot. Deshon Portley made that dream a reality and did it to the tune of a career-high 36 points Saturday in an 83-81 win over Arkansas-Monticello.
 
In a game that featured 14 lead changes, it was Portley who changed it for the last time. SNU trailed nearly all of the first half, and went back and forth with UAM all through the second half, but looked to have a handle on things with 2:02 left to play. The Storm led 78-73 on a Portley trey, but the Weevils kept chipping away. UAM trailed 80-77 with 16 seconds left when Tryin Jones was fouled on a made basket to cut it to 80-79. He missed the free throw, but UAM's leading scorer, Derylton Hill, was fouled and made two free throws to give the Weevils an 81-80 lead with 13 seconds left.
 
That set the stage for Portley who drained a trey from straight on with six seconds left to give the Storm the lead for good.
 
The win is the sixth straight for the Crimson Storm (18-10, 15-7 GAC) who tied the school record for wins at the Division II level and increased its school record for wins in the Great American Conference. It is the longest winning streak since the 2011-12 season.
 
Portley went 12-for-20 from the field and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers. Those seven treys also ties five others for the second-most threes hit in a single-game in school history.
 
C.J. White also had a fantastic Senior Day as he dropped 16 points and six rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting from the field in his final game in the Sawyer Center. LB Willis added nine points as well. Anton Kankaanpaa also played his final game in Bethany.
 
The Storm led twice early in the second half, but Monticello shot 54.2 percent from the field and went 12-for-13 at the line to control the half. The Weevils led by as much as 10 in the half and were up 32-22 before C.J. White hit a bucket in the paint to start a 15-7 run as SNU decreased the deficit to 39-37 with 1:48 to play. UAM hit a three late to take a 42-37 lead at the break.
 
The Crimson Storm opened the second half with a 12-3 run to lead 49-45. SNU led 51-47 before the Weevils scored five straight to lead 52-51. Neither team led by more than two over the next five minutes until a pair of Portley free throws and a trey started a 11-4 run to give the Storm a 70-64 lead with 4:17 to play. UAM cut it to one four different times before the Jones layup with 16 seconds left.
 
SNU shot 51.6 percent from the field and went 10-for-23 from downtown. The Storm gave up just six treys and turned the ball over just 11 times. The Storm scored 24 points off of 16 UAM turnovers and got 17 points off of their bench, including nine from Micah Speight.