BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southern Nazarene's quest for a Three-Peat at the GAC Championships came to an end on Saturday afternoon as they fell 77-61 to rival Oklahoma Baptist in the Semi-Finals in Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
The No. 1 seed Crimson Storm just couldn't get their offense into rhythm right from the opening tip, as they finished the contest shooting 32.3 percent from the field, their second-lowest clip of the 2019-20 season. SNU got open looks for most of the game but the shots just weren't falling as they converted just 7-of-31 (22.6%) of their 3-point tries. On the opposite end, the Bison could do no wrong as they made everything on Saturday, shooting 54 percent from the field. OKBU out-rebounded SNU 40-30 for the game and outscored the Storm 38-22 in the paint.
 
Micah Speight led the way for Southern Nazarene on the offensive side of the ball, as he finished with 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting. He also finished with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Jhonathan Dunn scored 19 points on just 6-of-16 shooting as both Speight and Dunn combined to shoot 5-for-16 from the 3-point line. Manny Dixon chipped in 10 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals. Tyler Williams added five points for SNU as well.
 
Southern Nazarene got off to a nightmare start as they started just 1-for-15 from the floor. Because of that, Oklahoma Baptist quickly jumped out to a 13-0 lead. SNU would go on to make just six field goals in the first 20 minutes while the Bison shot 59 percent and took a 43-23 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Crimson Storm tried to make a push in the second half, but each time Oklahoma Baptist had an answer. OKBU took their largest lead of the afternoon at 61-33 with 12:21 to play and that's when SNU started to push back. The Storm went on a 17-5 run to cut it to 66-40 and later trimmed the lead to 12 at 68-56. Time was the enemy for SNU as they just didn't have enough to cut further into the Bison lead. Oklahoma Baptist closed the final two minutes and earn a tripo to the GAC title for the first time in program history.
 
Southern Nazarene's season is not over yet, as they will still qualify for the NCAA Regionals in Maryville, Missouri. The Crimson Storm will find out their seeding and opponent on Sunday evening as they gear up for their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.