BETHANY, Okla.—Adokiye Iyaye's season high 23 points were not enough as a shorthanded Crimson Storm squad lost their third straight game to start Great American Conference play on Saturday afternoon. This is SNU's first three game losing streak since December 2015.

Southern Nazarene (4-4, 0-3 GAC) was limited to just seven players on Saturday and the depth would prove to be an issue as just a six point game with 10 minutes remaining turned into an 88-63 defeat at the hands of Northwestern Oklahoma State (6-2, 2-1 GAC). The loss snaps a seven game winning streak over the Rangers.

The Storm struggled to slow down Northwestern's high-powered offensive attack as the Rangers poured in 64% of their shots, including 50% of their shots from the outside. 

The game would be tight throughout the majority of the first half, but a late 13-3 run from the Rangers pushed their lead out to 44-32. Adokiye Iyaye would drill a three-ball as the first half buzzer expired, cutting the deficit back to single digits at 44-35 at the half.

The Ranger lead hovered around 10 points for much of the second half, although the Storm did put together a mini run that would bring the score to 51-45. That was as close as they ever could get, though, as the rest of the game was all Northwestern. They closed the game on a 27-8 run, finishing the game with their largest lead of the day at 88-63.

The Storm started the game shooting the ball at a high rate, but the well quickly ran dry. They finished shooting just 18-of-50 (36%), including just 8-of-27 (29.6%) from the field in the second half.

One bright spot for the Storm was their work at the charity stripe, something they have struggled with through the first handful of games this season. The team knocked down 18-of-22 shots at the line (81.8%), easily their highest mark of the season.

Alongside Iyaye's 23 points, Jalen Lynn and Manny Dixon also notched double figures in the scoring department. Lynn poured in 18, while Dixon collected 12.

Matt Treacy knocked down three shots from the outside to give him 9 points on the day.

Southern Nazarene will attempt to stop the skid on Tuesday with a trip to Weatherford to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State. SNU has won 11 of the last 12 matchups with the Bulldogs, including six straight wins in Weatherford. The Storm will hope to see the return of some key guys as they look to right the ship heading into the Christmas break.