BETHANY, Okla.—After a near four week hiatus, the Southern Nazarene University Men's Basketball team did not miss a step in their return to action on Thursday night as the Crimson Storm made a statement with a 93-73 throttling of rival Oklahoma Baptist.
Southern Nazarene (6-5, 1-4 GAC) came into the game without a win in the Great American Conference, but had yet to play a single game with a fully healthy roster. They showed what they could do with everyone on the floor, dismantling Oklahoma Baptist (9-5, 6-2 GAC), who came into Thursday in second place in the conference.
The Crimson Storm could seemingly do no wrong on the offensive end. They totaled 93 points, their most in a single game since a 96 point outburst against Harding back in January 2020. The Storm poured in 54% of their shots (36-of-67), including a second straight game of 13 made threes (13-of-26), en route to their 20 point win.
The first half saw SNU build a 16 point lead after Jalen Lynn buried a corner triple at the first half buzzer. That would mark the final of seven first half three balls as Southern Nazarene carried a 44-28 advantage into the break.
From there, SNU was able to control the tempo throughout the second half. They never allowed the Bison to get any closer than 13 points as the offense continued to flow. 11 different Storm players scored, including five different players in double-figures, the most in a game this season.
Adokiye Iyaye led the way with 18 points for the Storm, knocking down 4-of-6 shots from the outside.
Nick Davis was not far behind, pouring in a season-high 16 points to go along with his 6 boards in just 19 minutes of action. He also chipped in on the defensive end with a block and a pair of steals.
Tyler McGhie followed with 14 points in his Sawyer Center debut. Jalen Lynn and Xavier Bryant rounded out the double-figure scoring for SNU with 12 and 11, respectively.
Beyond the strong offensive showing, SNU really showed some prowess on the glass. They out-rebounded the Bison 37-25. Coming into the game, OBU had only been out-rebounded in five games, none of which were by more than five rebounds.
The win snaps a three-game skid to Oklahoma Baptist and the Storm will look to take the momentum gained from Thursday night on the road to Ada. SNU will take on East Central on Saturday, looking for their first conference road win of the season. The Tigers stole a 51-50 victory over the Storm back on Dec. 2 when they closed the game out on a 13-1 run. A healthy SNU squad will look to get their revenge on Saturday in Ada. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. following the women's game.
