ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—The Southern Nazarene men's basketball team began a long four-game road trip on Tuesday night in which they will play four Arkansas teams in seven days. The Storm were able to survive Ouachita 69-63, but if Tuesday was any indication, it is going to take a lot to come away with wins in each of the next three games for SNU.
Tuesday's game was a makeup of the Dec. 30 postponement and kickstarted a long week for Southern Nazarene (8-5, 3-4 GAC). They were able to sneak away with a win after a clutch three from Jalen Lynn pushed SNU's lead to six, but Ouachita Baptist (4-12, 2-8 GAC) kept it close all night long.
The Crimson Storm came in riding a three game winning streak, all by double-digits, and were feeling good about themselves, but the Tigers reminded them that you cannot take any Great American Conference foe for granted. Despite sitting at the bottom of the GAC standings, Ouachita has played all but one GAC contest within 10 points. They did so again on Tuesday night and nearly pulled off the upset.
It was a game that featured 16 ties and 12 lead changes. The largest lead of the night came less than two minutes into the contest after Southern Nazarene buried three straight triples to open the game and build a 9-2 lead. The team would then hit a huge cold spell from the outside as they missed their next 15 shots from deep. The team was finally able to rebound and hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to secure the win.
SNU carried a slim 31-29 lead into the break after Xavier Bryant buried a pair of free throws late in the half. The teams then traded buckets throughout much of the second half. Ouachita built a four point lead at 51-47 following a three ball from Leon Kalinic, but SNU responded with a 6-0 run to regain the lead. Ouachita again grabbed the lead at 56-53, but Jalen Lynn finally broke the lid off the basket from the outside with SNU's first three since the 18:08 mark of the first half. A couple of possessions later Tyler McGhie followed suit with his own triple that gave SNU a four point advantage at 62-58. Not long after that Jalen Lynn finally iced the game after his three with 23 second left pushed the Crimson Storm's lead to 69-63.
The team has to feel good about the improvement they showed at the line on Tuesday. After four consecutive games shooting less than 60% from the charity stripe, SNU bounced back in a big way with an 11-of-14 (77.8%) showing at the line.
It was a total team effort for the Storm as four different players notched at five field goals made in the game. Tyler McGhie led the way with 15 points. He would also add 5 assists as he did a great job making the extra pass as defenders closed out on him.
Adokiye Iyaye and Jalen Lynn each totaled 13 points, while Nick Davis recorded his third straight game in double-figures with 12 points and his first double-double of the season with 10 boards.
After injuries derailed the early part of the season for SNU, the Storm have responded in a big way by winning their last three Great American Conference matchups. The team has moved out of the cellar and into eighth place with a big chance to make another leap over the next few days. SNU continues their journey through the Arkansas side of the conference over the next few days as they prepare for Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday before battling Southern Arkansas on Saturday. They will finally round out the road trip on Monday with a remake of Jan. 1 postponement against Henderson State. Tipoff with Monticello is set for 7:30 on Thursday.
