ADA, Okla.— Being the two-time defending champ was never going to be easy for Southern Nazarene and Saturday underscored just how tough it will be to run its streak of championships to three.
East Central shot 56.3 percent in the second half and held off a late Crimson Storm rally as the Tigers knocked off the No. 21 Crimson Storm, 81-80, in the Tigers' home opener. SNU made it a one-possession game multiple times in the last 65 seconds, but was unable to fully overcome East Central's lead. A Jhonathan Dunn 3-pointer made it 76-74 in favor of the Tigers with 1:05 remaining and another 3-pointer from Dunn made it 78-77 with 53 seconds remaining.
Camron Talley responded with a floater in the lane to push the lead to three with 19 seconds left. After a Morris Wilson miss at the rim, Josh Apple made it a two-possession game with 11 seconds left. Dunn hit another 3-pointer to make the score 81-80 in favor of the Tigers. After Gerren Jackson missed two free throws with 3.8 seconds left, Micah Speight's half court heave at the buzzer missed just to the left, giving the Tigers their first win over SNU since Jan. 19, 2017. The Tigers were aggressive on the glass, pulling down 10 offensive rebounds and turning those into 20 second chance points. SNU managed just four points on seven offensive rebounds. East Central also outscored the Storm in the paint, 32-22, most of those points coming on second chance opportunities.
Speight led the way for the Storm, scoring 28 points and knocking down six 3-pointers. Dunn was the only other SNU player in double figures with 26 points, but was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes remaining. Manny Dixon and Morris Wilson each chipped in nine points for SNU. Talley led four East Central players in double figures with 26 points, 22 of those coming in the second half on 9-of-14 shooting. Jackson had 15 and nine rebounds while Tylor Arnold added 12 points. Apple had 11 and nine rebounds.
SNU led most of the first half, taking a 36-31 lead at halftime. The Crimson Storm couldn't find consistency offensively, but led by only five at the break thanks to a 13-of-14 performance at the foul line by the Tigers. Two Speight free throws gave SNU a 44-38 lead with 17:12 remaining. East Central made their run at that point, rattling off 11 straight points to take a 49-44 lead. The run extended to 18-2 as the Tigers took a 56-46 lead on a jumper from Talley with 10:09 left to play.
The Crimson Storm went over eight minutes between field goals in the second half, all of that time coinciding with the Tigers' big run. Speight started the rally with three 3-pointers in the span of one minute, but ultimately, the deficit was too much for the Crimson Storm to overcome.
SNU will look to bounce back after the Thanksgiving holiday when they take on Oklahoma Christian at 3 p.m. on Nov. 30 in Edmond, Okla.
