KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A dominant second half and an explosive 25-point performance from newcomer Tyler McGhie led to a 73-52 season opening win for the Crimson Storm over Sioux Falls in the first game of the Central Region Challenge held at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Storm (1-0) as they fell behind by five early in the first half to Sioux Falls (0-1). SNU knocked down just 12-of-29 shots (41.9%), including just 2-of-10 (20%) from deep in that first half, but were able to overcome that poor shooting with some strong defense. They limited the Cougars to 11-of-30 shooting (36.7%) in the first half, and did not give up a single three-ball in the opening frame. This all added up to a 31-29 halftime advantage for the Crimson Storm.
Tyler McGhie got going early with two shots from deep in the opening five minutes of the game. He finished the first half with 10 points and added three more makes from deep in the second half on his way to a game-high 25 points.
Southern Nazarene was dominant in all facets of the game during the second half. They opened the period on a 16-3 run and quickly busted open a 47-32 lead. The Storm built the lead as high as 29 points before settling for a 73-52 win. They were lethal from all areas of the court, stroking the net to a tune of 59.3% during the final 20 minutes. They would knock down 6-of-10 shots from the outside, as well.
Offense was not the only bright spot for the Storm in the second half as they improved on strong defense from the first half to put together an even stronger performance in the second half. The Cougars never found a rhythm as the SNU defense limited them to just 23 points on 30% shooting in the second half.
Alongside McGhie, Adokiye Iyaye and Xavier Bryant also reached double-digit point totals. Iyaye, the GAC's second-leading scorer last season, totaled 15 points, two off his average from a season ago, while Bryant, a transfer out of Sam Houston State, notched 10 points. He also added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Manny Dixon also filled up the stat sheet in a number of areas, dropping in 6 points, hauling in 8 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and swiping 3 steals.
While the first win of the season is nice, the Storm cannot celebrate for too long as they must quickly turn around and prepare for game number two tomorrow. SNU gets set for their second and final game of the Central Region Challenge against Missouri Southern, a team no stranger to postseason success. SNU hopes to build off a successful first game and move to 2-0 on the season. Tipoff is set for 4:30 on Saturday afternoon in Kansas City.
