DURANT, Okla. — Looking to bounce-back after their troubling one point defeat to East Central in their conference opener, the Southern Nazarene Men's Basketball team battled a back-and-forth contest to Southeastern Oklahoma State only to come up short 71-82.

Without Adokiye Iyaye, in the last two contests, the Storm (4-3, 0-2 GAC) welcomed his return in Saturday's ballgame as he posted double figure scoring to help out with SNU's offensive efforts against the Savage Storm (6-1, 2-0 GAC).

The matchup between the two Storms was close across all categories, but what caught the Crimson Storm was only hitting five of their 14 three pointers throughout the contest. The Savage Storm answered that percentage hitting just under half of their attempts (10-21) making it an outside heyday for the team in gold and blue.

The defensive front showed up big for SNU as they managed to out-rebound SE 32-25 on the afternoon while securing six more offensive boards. Yet, SE's lights-out shooting put them ahead the majority of the contest and later propelled them to take the final victory.

The Crimson Storm broke out on top in the first couple of minutes of the first half and the score alternated from then on. SE crept up to a seven point lead 12 minutes in, but a three by Eain Mowat along with two Mo Wilson II jumpers cut it back down to four.

The home team dished out a couple of buckets here and there, but the Crimson Storm found some momentum late in the half as Jalen Lynn hit a big three and Iyaye hit a runner to tie the game again at 33 a piece with four minutes of play remaining in the first.

Points were changed once again in the final few, but SE went into halftime with a four point lead over the Crimson Storm (40-36).

It was a similar narrative after the break, as when one team scored the other answered and the scoreboard barely budged to either side.

Five minutes in, the Savage Storm regain strength hitting two back-to-back three's to revisit the seven-point lead. From there, SE had their eyes on the finish line capitalizing on every Crimson Storm turnover and missed field goal.

Down the final minutes of the second half, the Savage Storm were working with a 16 point lead making it their largest of game. Iyaye found Manny Dixon for two shots from behind the arc putting them back up within reach. Operating within a 10 point gap with a 1:30 to go, SE sunk in a few free throws to pull away from the fighting SNU and earned their sixth straight in their second GAC contest.

Dixon led the way with 17 points and six rebounds while Iyaye finished with 14 points and two assists.

Nick Davis added 12 points to the mix to go along with his eight rebounds, one block, and on steal. Teammate Wilson II tallied 11 points, eight points two assists, and on steal that afternoon.

Xavier Bryant also pitched in with seven points, six rebounds, and three assists against SE.

The Storm have a week off before their next matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State inside the Sawyer Center next Saturday at 3 p.m.