ALVA, Okla. – Southern Nazarene's quest for a fourth straight Great American Conference regular season championship couldn't have started any smoother in the season opener, as they dominate Northwestern Oklahoma State 67-46 inside the Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva.
A dominant defensive performance was on full display for the Crimson Storm (1-0, 1-0 GAC) as they suffocated the Rangers (2-1, 0-1 GAC) all game long, holding the home team to 27.3 percent shooting from the field. The Storm had their hands in almost every passing lane on Thursday night as they forced 17 Northwestern turnovers and held the Rangers to 7-of-29 (24.1%) from 3-point territory.
On the offensive side of the ball, SNU shot 46.4 percent and only converted 5-of-21 (23.8%) tries from downtown. The Storm out rebounded the Rangers 40-36 and dominated in the paint, racking up 42 of their 67 points compared to just 16 points in the paint for Northwestern. Junior guard
Manny Dixon led the way in scoring for the Crimson Storm, racking up a game-high 19 points on a very efficient 8-of-10 shooting, including a 3-of-5 clip from behind the arc. He also added five rebounds and two blocks. SNU's two offseason transfers
Adokiye Iyaye and
Xavier Bryant both had excellent debuts for the Storm, as Iyaye scored 13 points and chipped in two assists and two steals, while Bryant came off the bench to register 11 points.
Sophomore guard
Karlyn Kenner was a lethal force on the defensive side of the ball as he recorded a career-high four steals while adding 10 points and three rebounds.
Mo Wilson II added six points and six rebounds while
Maik Bouwer led the way in rebounding with a team-high eight boards to go with four points.
A combination of excellent defense and some cold shooting was the name of the game for both teams as SNU and Northwestern combined for 17 points in the first eight minutes of the contest. A
Nick Davis layup gave the Storm an 18-13 lead with 8:52 to play in the first half, before SNU ripped off an 11-1 run to push their lead to 15 with 2:49 remaining in the opening frame. The Crimson Storm would carry that 15-point lead into the halftime break.
After a slow offensive first half shooting just 38.7 percent, Southern Nazarene came out firing in the second half as they knocked down 14-of-25 shot attempts in the final 20 minutes. After extending their lead to 21 just three minutes into the second half, the Storm didn't take their foot off the gas. Northwestern tried to make a run and get back in the game, but SNU pushed their lead to 27, their largest of the night, with 4:20 to play and head coach
Adam Bohac was able to empty the bench in the final minutes of the contest.
Southern Nazarene will now gear up for a three-game home stretch which kicks off Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. as the Crimson Storm hosts East Central.
