ADA, Okla. – Southern Nazarene's road success continued on Thursday evening as they marched right into Kerr Activities Center and left with an 81-72 victory.
The victory moved the Crimson Storm (4-2, 4-2 GAC) to 3-0 on the road this season, and back into the top spot in the Western division of the GAC standings. SNU is now also the only school in the conference with a perfect road record as well. For the first time this season, the Storm eclipsed the 50 percent shooting mark, as they absolutely lit it up in Ada on Thursday. They knocked down 25-of-46 (54.3%) of their field goals, including 10-of-20 (50%) from behind the 3-point line.
Some may call it his "coming out party", but the junior guard transfer
Adokiye Iyaye was the best player on the floor in this contest. Iyaye poured in a career-high 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting and was lethal from downtown, converting 5-of-6 from the arc. He was also 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and added four rebounds as well.
Iyaye was one of four Storm players who finished in double figures as it was a balanced scoring attack for head coach
Adam Bohac. Sophomore guard
Karlyn Kenner scored 17 points on 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point territory. He was also efficient from the charity stripe, finishing 7-of-8 and also adding four rebounds and two steals.
Manny Dixon and
Nick Davis each recorded 11 points, as Davis' performance was a season-high for the sophomore off the bench.
Xavier Bryant also came off the SNU bench to score seven points and dish out three assists while
Maik Bouwer added five points and four rebounds.
Mo Wilson II once again played the orchestrator for the Crimson Storm offense as he finished with three points, four rebounds, and three assists.
SNU went to the free-throw line 27 times and converted 21 compared to the Tigers (2-3, 2-3 GAC) who were awarded 17 freebies and only knocked down 11. ECU won the rebounding battle 31-24, but the Storm's gritty defense forcing 14 Tiger turnovers made the difference in the game. The Crimson Storm were able to take care of the ball on Thursday, only giving it away eight times, tying their season low.
Southern Nazarene has had a knack all season long in starting games fast, and that was no different in Ada. They leapt out to 9-2 lead in the opening minutes before blowing that out to a 23-12 lead at the 11:12 mark. East Central responded with a 17-5 run of their own to take their first lead at 29-28 with 6:20 remaining in the opening frame. Both teams went back and forth to close the half with SNU taking a 44-40 lead into the break. The Storm shot 66.7 percent from the floor and knocked down 8 of their 10 triples in the opening half, while the Tigers shot 53.8 on their home floor.
SNU cooled off a bit in the second half, posting a 44.0 percent clip but went to the free-throw line 15 times. After another back and forth effort from both sides, an Iyaye 3-pointer gave the Storm a 59-52 lead with 11:07 to play. A Tiger triple cut the SNU lead to 69-63 with 4:36 before the Storm closed the final minutes on an 11-5 run to close out the home team.
East Central was led in scoring by Jalen Crutchfield who finished with 18 points while Tylor Arnold added 14 and Jakeem Acres at 12.
Southern Nazarene's Saturday contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State has been canceled due to COVID-19 complications.
