WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Southern Nazarene men's basketball team extended their winning streak inside Pioneer Cellular Event Center on Thursday night, as they locked down Southwestern Oklahoma State 62-48 to win their sixth straight inside the PCEC.
With the victory, the Crimson Storm (10-7, 10-7 GAC) clinched the No. 2 seed in the Great American Conference Western division. Head coach
Adam Bohac and company will have a first-round bye in next week's GAC Tournament and will get to host a second-round game inside the Sawyer Center next Wednesday night. SNU was in their bag in Weatherford, as they held the Bulldogs (7-9, 7-9 GAC) to 26.7 percent shooting for the game.
The Storm's lethal defense locked down the SWOSU offense to 5-of-27 (18.5%) from behind the 3-point line while forcing 13 Bulldog turnovers in the process. Southwestern won the rebounding battle 44-39, but SNU dished out 12 assists and knocked down 13 triples to make life difficult on the Dawgs. The Crimson Storm shot 42.9 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from downtown in the game. They blocked seven shots but struggled from the free-throw line at 7-of-25 (28.0%), a season-low for Southern Nazarene.
Sophomore
Karlyn Kenner had his best all-around game in an SNU uniform, as the guard finished with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. All seven of Kenner's field goals came from behind the 3-point line, another career-high for the sophomore. Kenner's seven rebounds were also a career-high while he tied his career-high in steals with four.
Manny Dixon was the only other Storm scorer in double-figures as he finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Dixon also added seven rebounds as well.
The frontcourt of SNU was pivotal as
Mo Wilson II anchored the Storm offense with nine points, four assists, three blocks, and two rebounds while
Maik Bouwer added six points and a team-high eight rebounds. Point guard
Xavier Bryant stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, a team-high six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Nick Davis chipped in with five points, three blocks, and two rebounds.
It was a tale of two halves for Southern Nazarene as they came out firing in the first half. The Storm shot 46.7 percent from the floor and buried 9-of-13 from 3-point land. SNU locked down Southwestern Oklahoma State in the opening 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs shot just 24.2 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from deep. A Bryant 3-pointer six minutes in gave Southern Nazarene an 11-2 lead early, before a Kenner triple pushed it to 19-7 at the midway point. The Crimson Storm kept up the pressure on the defensive end as they continued to force turnovers out of SWOSU. Bryant knocked down another 3-pointer with 5:32 remaining in the first half to give the Storm a 29-14 lead, and a few minutes later, a Wilson II free-throw ballooned the lead to 36-16. SNU closed the half and took a 38-18 advantage into the halftime break.
Southern Nazarene's offense sputtered a bit in the second half as Southwestern came out looking to get back into the game. They held SNU to a 36.8 percent clip in the final frame, but the Crimson Storm's defense remained dominant as they held the Bulldogs to a 29.6 clip in the final 20 minutes. That didn't stop the home team from trying to get back in it however.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 6-0 run to cut it to 38-24 early in the frame, before chipping away and cutting it to 46-34 with 9:48 to play. SNU tried to put the game away but SWOSU got a monster dunk with 5:44 remaining to poke the deficit to 49-38. 11 points would be the closest the Bulldogs got, as Southern Nazarene closed the final minutes with free-throws to win their seventh road game of the season.
Southern Nazarene will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon inside the Sawyer Center as they welcome in Southeastern Oklahoma State. Tip-off with the Savage Storm is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
