BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Sometimes the sequel doesn't quite have the same thrill as the original.
On this night, that was not the case.
One year after a double overtime classic in the GAC Championship Semifinals, Southern Nazarene knocked off Southeastern Oklahoma State, 80-77, in a thrilling GAC Championship Game on Sunday.
With the win, SNU became the first team in GAC history to win back-to-back tournament championships and advances to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Micah Speight led the way for SNU with 26 points, while also chipping in nine rebounds and six assists. His performance for the weekend earned him tournament Most Valuable Player honors, as the junior averaged 22 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in three games.
Jhonathan Dunn and
Noah Starkey joined Speight on the all-tournament team. Dunn finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday, while Starkey chipped in 12 points and four blocks.
The Crimson Storm shot 33 of 63 (52%) from the field and 7 of 17 (41%) from behind the arc on Sunday. On the other end, the Savage Storm were 29 of 58 (50%) from the field and 10 of 26 (39%) from behind the arc. Both teams took care of the basketball, combing for just 17 total turnovers between the two squads, nine for SNU and eight for SEOSU.
SNU raced out to a 7-1 lead in the first three minutes as Speight tallied four points and
Quaylon Newton chipped in a 3-point play. Southeastern responded with an 11-4 keyed by five points from Ziga Zatezic to take a 12-11 lead with 15:03 to go in the first half.
From there, it was a barrage of jumpers from each side as Speight and Dunn traded shots with Adam Dworsky and Kevin Buckingham. Halfway through the first half, the game was dead even at 24. The offensive onslaught continued, but neither team was able to create any distance from the other as the score remained tied at 35 with five minutes remaining in the half.
A 3-pointer from Jett Jobe gave Southeastern a 43-37 lead with 3:11 to play in the opening half, but SNU responded immediately with a 3-pointer from
Ashton Charles. The Crimson Storm closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 44-43 lead into the break. Overall, the lead changed hands 14 times in the first 20 minutes and the two teams were tied on seven other occasions.
The lead continue to seesaw back and forth early in the second half, but neither team led by more than three points in the first 10 minutes. Offensively, Speight began to take over the contest, finding lanes and blowing by defenders to get to the rim. SNU finished with a 44-32 advantage in points in the paint.
Midway through the half, SNU switched to a 2-3 zone to counter Southeastern's offense. The move was effective, as SNU took a 61-59 lead on two free throws from Charles with 9:47 to play. The score would be tied at several points in the last 10 minutes, but SNU would not trail again.
A Speight layup gave SNU a 73-69 lead with 4:14 to play, but 3-pointers from Zatezic and Buckingham sandwiched around a layup from Dunn tied the score at 75 with 2:05 to play.
Speight responded on the next possession, as the junior found a seam and lined one up in the corner, draining a huge 3-pointer to push the lead to three. After a miss from SE, Speight struck again with a runner in the lane to give SNU its biggest lead of the second half at 80-75 with just under a minute to play.
A layup from Jobe and a 3-point miss from
Zach Johnson gave the Savage Storm one final opportunity with 16 seconds left. Buckingham had a good look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer, but Charles was there to contest the shot and force the miss. One inbounds play later, SNU completed their defense of their tournament crown, sending the partisan SNU crowd that made the trip from Bethany into a frenzy.
In addition to its big three of Speight, Dunn and Starkey, SNU got tremendous contributions from its bench as Charles and Edwards played huge minutes and huge roles down the stretch. Both finished with eight points in the contest. Charles was huge in the second half with Newton in foul trouble much of the afternoon.
Buckingham finished with 27 points and 11 boards while Jobe added 14 points. Kellen Manek had 13 points while Dworsky had 10 points.
The win moved SNU to 28-5 season, eclipsing their win total from just a season ago. The matchup between the Crimson Storm and the Savage Storm was just the second meeting of the top two seeds in GAC Championship history. SNU will learn their NCAA tournament destination and opponent Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. during the NCAA Selection Show on NCAA.com.
