BETHANY, Okla. — Fans inside the Sawyer Center saw a nail biter Thursday evening as the contest between Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist came down to the final seconds where the Bison broke away with a 67-66 victory inside the Sawyer Center.
The Storm (8-6, 3-4 GAC) performed well in almost every category statistically, but Trent May's squad came up short in the free throw column, only getting seven to fall true out of their 18 attempts.
Seeing 33 attempts that evening, the Bison (8-7, 3-5 GAC) sunk in 26 from behind the charity stripe, with two of those awarding the green and gold the win just three seconds left in the final quarter.
The Storm had a commanding start to the contest, shooting 50 percent in the first quarter which led to an eight point lead over the Bison (22-14).
Not much changed the following quarter as SNU managed to go 9-15 from outside leaving the Bison behind 30-42 going into the half.
It was a tough adjustment after the half for the Storm as they managed to rack up 10 fouls in the third quarter, leaving OBU to make nine trips to foul line where they hit 16 of 18, making it 20 total points for the Bison that period. The Storm still defended an eight point lead going into the final quarter (58-50).
Fouls troubled the Storm in the final 10 minutes as they picked up the fifth foul with five minutes left of play. OBU rallied to bring the Storm's lead to within one (64-63) with three minutes remaining on the clock. OBU got a jumper to go just under a minute to play, giving the Bison their first lead of the contest at 65-64.
The clock trickled down and senior guard Kennedy Gillette sunk one in from 10 feet with just under 20 seconds left in the contest, putting her squad up 66-65 over the Bison. The possession after, Abby Niehues intercepts an OBU pass down low with nine seconds remaining.
With just three seconds left, the Bison were awarded a trip to free throw line as SNU committed a foul after two missed free throws. OBU's Jaylin Stapleton sunk both in for the Bison and Emily Monaghan's miracle shot from the backcourt was no good, leaving the Bison back to Shawnee with the 67-66 victory over SNU.
Niehues grabbed another double-double that evening hitting 18 on the night along with 11 boards.
Gillette finished with 13 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
Cassandra Awatt added 10 points and pulled down five rebounds along with one block, assist, and steal each.
Alexus Jones was confident from downtown, sinking three from behind the arc giving her nine on the night while dishing out four assists.
Traveling to Ada Saturday afternoon, the Storm will matchup with the Tigers from East Central once again this season looking to regain momentum in GAC play. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
