ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Back in March, No. 9 Southern Nazarene saw their season come to an end against the eventual national champion. Saturday evening, the Crimson Storm got another shot at No. 1 Northwest Missouri State, but the result, unfortunately, was the same, as the Bearcats won an offensive showcase, 100-88 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Mo.
Saturday's game was nothing like the Crimson Storm's (1-1) 70-59 loss to the Bearcats (2-0) in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. Both teams shot over 55 percent from the field and hit a combined 33 3-pointers, 15 for NWMSU and 18 for SNU.
Seniors Jhonathan Dunn and Micah Speight combined for 60 points to lead the Crimson Storm. Dunn led the team with 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a 6-of-8 performance from behind the arc. Speight finished with 28, going 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Both played all 40 minutes in the game.
Morris Wilson chipped in 11 points and Ashton Charles added nine points for the Storm, which showed they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with this season despite losing six seniors off last year's record-setting squad.
Ryan Hawkins led the way for the Bearcats, pouring in 44 points and nine rebounds. He was 15-of-22 from the field and 8-of-11 from 3-point range. 29 of his points came in the second half. All five Bearcat starters scored in double figures.
Not only did both teams knock down 33 3-pointers, they did so at a highly efficient clip. SNU finished 18-of-32 from deep and NWMSU was 15-of-26.
The Bearcats were able to use their size to gain a strong advantage inside. Northwest Missouri State outscored SNU in the paint, 44-20, and gathered in 14 offensive rebounds to just seven for SNU, resulting in a 25-13 edge in second chance points.
SNU raced out to a 9-2 lead and led for much of a tight first half. A 3-pointer for Maik Bouwer with 3:12 to go pushed the Crimson Storm lead to 39-33 before Northwest Missouri State closed within 43-42 at the half. The teams exchanged the lead 12 times in the first 20 minutes.
Speight had 19 of his points in the first half, while Dunn had 13.
The Bearcats took a 46-45 lead on two Hawkins free throws with 18:29 remaining and did not relinquish the lead the rest of the game, although the Storm did tie once at 48 apiece.
SNU hung tough, but were unable to limit the offensive onslaught in the second half, as NWMSU shot 63.6 percent and hit 10 3-pointers in the half. The Crimson Storm managed one last rally, as an 8-0 push cut the NWMSU lead to 90-85 with 2:44 to play. However, the Bearcats responded with a 10-0 run of their own, capped by one last 3-pointer from Hawkins with 21 seconds to go.
The Crimson Storm will be back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 against Minnesota-Duluth, the first day of the SNU Invitational that also features Southeastern Oklahoma State and Northern State. The Crimson Storm take on Northern State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
