MAGNOLIA, Ark. — An 18-point first half deficit was not too much for Southern Nazarene on Saturday, as the Crimson Storm rallied to defeat Southern Arkansas, 63-57, at the W.T. Watson Center.
It was the sixth win in a row for the Crimson Storm, who improved to 10-5 and 5-4 in Great American Conference play. Southern Arkansas dropped to 9-6 and is now also 5-4 in the GAC.
Trailing by seven at halftime, the Crimson Storm quickly trimmed the deficit to a single point, but were unable to take the lead. SAU kept the Storm at arms' length, leading by six on multiple occasions in the second half.
But SNU was not to be denied. The Storm finally tied the score for the first time at 54 apiece with 6:57 remaining. It would be another four minutes before SNU took its first lead of the game, 58-56, on a driving layup from junior Mo Wilson. The Crimson Storm did not relinquish the lead and left Magnolia winners for the first time since Feb. 28, 2019. SNU held Southern Arkansas without a field goal for the final seven minutes of the game.
Wilson led the way for the Crimson Storm with a season-high 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He also finished one rebound shy of a double-double, pulling down nine. Xavier Bryant added 13 for SNU and Adokiye Iyaye had 11.
Devante Brooks had 19 points and 19 rebounds for Southern Arkansas. Blake Rogers was the only other player in double figures for the Muleriders, as he finished with 11 points. The Crimson Storm, Jalen Lynn in particular, were locked in on defending GAC Player of the Year Aaron Lucas all afternoon, holding the point guard to seven points on just 2-of-14 shooting.
The SNU defense was particularly salty in the second half. The Muleriders shot a measly 18.5 percent in the final 20 minutes, and missed their final 12 3-point attempts going back to the first half. It was the first game in two weeks for Southern Arkansas, coming off a COVID pause that postponed their last three contests.
Southern Nazarene did an outstanding job taking care of the basketball, tying a season-low with just six turnovers. Despite SAU pulling down 17 offensive rebounds—a season-high for an SNU opponent this year—the Crimson Storm limited the Muleriders to just eight second chance points.
The Muleriders started the game hot, as they rattled off the first eight points of the game. After Southern Nazarene got on the board, SAU turned in an 11-0 run to extend a 12-7 lead up to 23-7 with 12:34 to go in the first half.
Rogers was the catalyst for SAU early, as he went 3-for-3 from 3-point range, helping the Muleriders grow their lead to 28-10 with 10:43 to play in the first half. As a team, Southern Arkansas went 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the first 10 minutes of the half, while the Crimson Storm struggled from deep themselves, going 1-for-9 over the same timeframe.
The Crimson Storm turned up the defense and shook off the slow start offensively from that point, rattling off a 16-4 run over the next seven minutes, punctuated by a Tyler McGhie layup to make the score 32-26 in favor of SAU. The teams were nearly even for the final four minutes of the half, as the Muleriders took a 38-31 lead into the locker room.
Wilson had a tremendous first half, going for 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes, including a pair of dunks. His interior opposition, Brooks, countered with a double-double in the first half with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Crimson Storm wrap up this four-game road trip on Monday when they take on Henderson State. The Reddies are nearly as hot as the Crimson Storm right now, having won four consecutive games. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center in Arkadelphia, Ark.
