BETHANY - The No. 7/10 Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm got double-doubles from
Jhonathan Dunn,
Noah Starkey, and
Micah Speight as they closed the night on a 19-8 run to pull away and defeat a pesky Nebraska-Kearney, 88-69, on Friday evening at the Sawyer Center.
Dunn would go for 24 points and 10 boards, Starkey added 20 points and 11 boards, and Speight picked up 14 points and 10 assists as the Crimson Storm shot 45% from the field and 44% from behind the arc including 12 3-pointers. SNU was also 18 of 22 from the charity stripe, going 9 of 11 in each half.
SNU held the Lopers to 39% shooting from the field, but did connect on 10 3-pointers on the evening. UNK did not help themselves at the free throw line, going 7 of 16.
Southern Nazarene commanded the boards as a team, 48-36, and had 22 assists to UNK's 10. The Crimson Storm only turned the ball over 11 times while the Lopers did a good job protecting possession themselves, only giving it away 10 times.
Both teams found some successful possessions in the early going as Nebraska-Kearney got their one and only lead of the game at 7-6 before SNU rattled off a 13-0 run behind 3-pointers from Speight, Dunn, and junior
Logan Hicks, as well as a pair of lay-ins by Starkey to move ahead 19-7.
SNU would maintain that lead throughout much of the first half, getting good looks on the offensive end while keeping the UNK offense in check. After the Lopers cut the deficit down to 30-21, SNU went on another huge run, this time a 12-0 run as 3-pointers from junior
Chris Stephens and Hicks gave the Crimson Storm their biggest lead of the game at 47-26.
However, the Lopers closed the half on a 13-4 run to climb back into it, only trailing by 12 going into the break.
In the second half, SNU got their lead back out to 16 and looked to be in control, but the Nebraska-Kearney team began to heat up, especially from deep, and began to hit shots, even some well defended ones as they would pull within seven on a few occasions midway through the second half.
With the game at 69-62 and teetering on a nail biting finish at the under 8 mark, Southern Nazarene got a huge momentum swing as Starkey came away with huge block. Speight would bring it down in transition and dish it to Dunn, who drove the base line and finished with a one-hand slam over a defender to send the home crowd into a frenzy and turn the game.
It was all part of 17-3 run by the Crimson Storm which included eight points by Speight as Southern Nazarene put the game away with an 88-69 victory to start the 2018-19 season.
Dunn was 8 of 14 (57%) from the floor with three 3-pointers. He had four assists, two steals, and a block to add to his tremendous stat line. Starkey was 6 of 12 (50%) from the field including 8 of 9 at the charity stripe while Speight was 4 of 6 from the field with three 3s to go with seven boards and two steals. Hicks had nine off the bench while Stephens added eight. Senior RJ Palmer had six points and six rebounds.
Speight's 10 assists match a career-high dating back to last year's match-up against Central Oklahoma while Dunn's four assists also match a career-high, which had been done three other times.
Kanon Koster led UNK with 17 points Carter Burns scored 16 off the bench. Sam Morris and AJ Jackson each added 10 points as well.
SNU goes to 1-0 on the season and will be back in action tomorrow for Day 2 of the GAC/MIAA Central Region Challenge. Earlier in the day, SNU's opponent tomorrow in Washburn defeated Oklahoma Baptist in a thriller, 99-96. The Bison and Lopers will lead things off tomorrow at 3 PM while the Crimson Storm and Ichabods are scheduled to follow at 5 PM.
