SNU POSTSEASON NOTES - NCAA CENTRAL REGION

BETHANY - For the second consecutive season, the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm are going dancing as they compete in the NCAA Tournament beginning on Saturday, March 16. SNU will meet the same opponent in St, Cloud State in the same building, Bearcat Arena, from one year ago.

TICKET UPDATE (3/15, 11:30 AM): Session 2 is SOLD OUT. However, single-game tickets will still be available FOLLOWING the 6 PM Northwest Mo/Minnesota State game. Fans can purchase single-session tickets in person at the ticket office.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena on the campus of Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo. Tickets for the regional can be purchased online HERE and all seating for the regional will be general admission. Fans can purchase single session tickets in person at the Cashiering office. The Cashiering office, located on the first floor of the Administration Building, will be open until from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. 

Last season, Jhonathan Dunn scored a team-high 22 points and added four rebounds as he was 10-for-20 from the field, Micah Speight had 16 points and added eight assists and eight rebounds and Noah Starkey had 14 points and five rebounds in just 24 minutes as he battled foul trouble for nearly all of the second half as the Crimson Storm fell to the Huskies, 81-68.

St. Cloud State got a game-high 27 from Gage Davis who went 14-for-16 at the line while Jon Averkamp had 19 points. The Huskies doubled SNU's total at the line as they went 28-for-36, 18-for-23 in the second half, while the Storm went 15-for-18. SNU shot 43.1 percent from the field, but went just 3-for-11 from downtown. The Huskies shot 25-for-48 from the floor and were held to just 3-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
SNU led by as much as 10 in the first half at 27-17, but St. Cloud State closed the gap to two at half and the Crimson Storm turned it over four times in the first four minutes as it was held scoreless for nearly six minutes to start the second half. The Huskies opened the second half on a 21-4 run to lead 59-44 and eventually hold on for the win.

A year ago, SNU came in as the No. 3 seed in the Central Region, this year they enter No. 5. Meanwhile, St. Cloud moved from No. 6 a year ago to No. 4 in the first round. Nearly all who played in that game one season ago return including Dunn, Speight, Starkey, and Quaylon Newton for SNU and Davis, Bradley Theisen, and Sean Smith for St. Cloud. 

Dunn leads the way for SNU with 17.6 pts/gm while Speight has been red hot in February and March, averaging 14.8 pts/gm. Starkey adds 14.0 pts/gm and is one of the nation's leaders in blocks, averaging 2.0 per game.

On the other end, Davis enters as one of the top scorer's in all of Division II, leading the Huskies with 26.1 pts/gm. Theisen is one of the top 3-point shooters in the country, shooting 51% from deep with 112 made 3-pointers. Meanwhile Smith is the top shot blocker in the country, averaging over 3.0 per game.

The winner of the game will meet the winner of No. 1 seed, host, and the top team in the country Northwest Missouri State and Minnesota State-Mankato, a team that upset the Bearcats a year ago, in the Region Semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. The winner of that semifinal contest will advance to the Central Region Championship on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The other side of the bracket includes No. 2 seed and last year's National Runner Up Northern State, No. 3 seed Washburn, No. 6 seed Missouri Southern State, and No. 7 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State, a team SNU was very accustomed with throughout the season.

The eight regional champions will advance to the quarterfinals in conjunction with the 2019 NCAA Division II Men's Elite Eight at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
 

BACK 2 BACK!
SNU has claimed back-to-back regular season and tournament championships in the GAC for the first team in conference history. SNU would become the third team in the GAC to win two GAC Tournament Titles, joining Arkansas Tech ('12 and '15) and Ouachita ('13 and '16) as the most all time. 

Also for the first time in GAC history, the conference has repeat winners in their major awards category as Noah Starkey won GAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season while Head Coach Adam Bohac took home GAC Coach of the Year.

MV3
In his last 10 games, Micah Speight been terrific as he leads the team in scoring at 16.8 pts/gm while shooting 53% from the field and 45% from behind the arc. Last week, Speight averaging 22.0 pts/gm while shooting 57% from the field and 54% the from behind the arc to earn GAC Tournament MVP.

RED HOT COLE 
Since knocking down four 3-pointers against East Central on January 19th, senior Coleman Edwards has been red-hot from 3-point range, going 30 of 63 (48%). He also went for a career-high 18 points including five 3-pointers in a 96-75 win over Harding.

REGIONAL REMATCH
It will be a familiar foe for SNU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as they meet St. Cloud State for the second consecutive season. Last year, after SNU took the lead into the break, the Huskies used a 21-4 run to start the second half to take an 81-68 win over SNU. Jhonathan Dunn led the way with 22 points while Micah Speight added 16 points.

RESUME WINS
SNU has two wins over Central Region opponents, picking up an 78-64 home win over Washburn on November 10th as well as a thrilling 80-77 win over Southeastern in the GAC Title Game on March 10th. 

ROAD WARRIORS
In six neutral site games this season, Jhonathan Dunn is averaging 20.7 pts/gm while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from behind the arc while Micah Speight is averaging 19.8 pts/gm while shooting 53% from the field and 48% from deep. 

1,000 POINT CLUB
This season, three players have eclipsed 1,000 career points in Dunn, Starkey, and Speight. Dunn reached the mark on 11/19 vs. Oklahoma Christian, Starkey reached the mark on 1/12 at Harding, and Speight reached it on 2/14 vs. Oklahoma Baptist.
 

2019 NCAA Central Region
Sat., March 16
Noon: No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 6 Missouri Southern State
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Northern State vs. No. 7 Southeastern Oklahoma State
6 p.m.: No. 1 Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 8 Minnesota State, Mankato
8:30 p.m.: No. 4 St. Cloud State vs. No. 5 Southern Nazarene
 
Sun, March 17
5 p.m.: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
7:30 p.m.: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
 
Tues, March 19
7 p.m.: Regional Championship Game