BETHANY – Since joining NCAA Division II, Southern Nazarene had never played a double-overtime game and boy did that change on Friday night.
The Crimson Storm (1-2) fell in heartbreaking fashion in front of a remarkable crowd in the Sawyer Center 115-109 to Minnesota-Duluth in double-overtime. It was one of the best games in recent memory in Bethany as the Bulldogs (1-0) knocked down 5-of-9 three pointers in the two overtime periods to close out the Storm.
Both teams shot over 46 percent from the field as SNU finished the game shooting 46.8 percent while UMD shot 50 percent. The Storm knocked down 10-of-34 (29%) of their three-point tries while the Bulldogs made 13-of-32 (40%). SNU committed 19 turnovers in the contest but forced 17 out of Duluth but the Bulldogs scored 26 points off turnovers compared to just 11 for the Storm.
Seniors
Micah Speight and
Jhonathan Dunn led the way on the offensive side of the ball as Speight poured in a game-high 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 5-of-11 from three-point land. Speight was on the floor for 48:57, the most he's ever played in a game for SNU as he also dished out seven assists as well. Dunn fouled out in the first overtime period with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 1-of-5 from downtown.
Morris Wilson II had arguably his best game in a SNU uniform as he posted a double-double with career-highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two blocked shots.
Maik Bouwer hit some big shots down the stretch as he finished with nine points and seven rebounds while
Ashton Charles and
Josiah Johnson each chipped in six points for SNU.
In a game that saw 14 ties and 28 lead changes, the fans inside Sawyer got their money's worth. After a back and forth first half, Dunn knocked down a jumper to give Southern Nazarene a 32-28 lead with 6:29 to play before the break. Later in the period, Bouwer made a layup to give SNU a 42-36 lead before Wilson II made a couple of free throws to push it to 44-36 with 1:38 left. After the Bulldogs knocked down a bucket, Speight pulled up from the "S" near midcourt and buried a triple to give SNU its largest lead of the half at 47-38 as the Storm took a seven-point lead into recess.
The second half showed that Minnesota-Duluth was not going down without a fight. After SNU took its largest lead of the game 53-42 with 17:55 to play, the Bulldogs responded with a 16-4 run to re-take the lead at 58-57. After the lead changed hands six more times, Speight buried a floater in the lane to give the Storm an 81-80 lead with 30 seconds to play. Duluth responded with a three-pointer before Dunn knocked down a jumper with 14 seconds to play and the game was pushed to overtime.
Dunn fouled out just a few minutes into overtime and the Bulldogs jumped all over it. They took a 92-89 lead with 1:22 to play and later held it at 93-90 with 27 seconds to go. After a missed jumper from Speight, the Storm had to foul and UDM made one of two free throws to bump their lead to 94-90. After Charles nailed a three-pointer in the corner, SNU played the foul game once again. The Bulldogs split the free-throws again and led 95-93, giving the Storm one final chance with 12 seconds to go. After a couple of missed three-pointers from Charles and Speight in the same possession, Bouwer grabbed the offensive rebound and threw one up at the buzzer and made it, sending it to a second overtime.
Minnesota-Duluth flexed their muscles in the second overtime period as they buried three triples and held the Storm to just 10 percent shooting from three-point range. The Bulldogs escaped with free throws down the stretch to close out the Storm.
Southern Nazarene will be back in action tomorrow evening at 5:30 as they close out the SNU Invitational against No. 15 ranked Northern State.
