BETHANY, Okla.—Despite a tough start offensively, Southern Nazarene found a way to earn another victory and extend their winning streak to double-digits with a 61-57 win over Arkansas Tech on Monday night in the Sawyer Center.
The Crimson Storm (14-5, 9-4 GAC) found themselves playing in their seventh game in 15 days and it showed on the offensive end. Tired legs saw SNU shoot just 11-of-29 (37.9%) from the floor, including 2-of-12 (16.7%) from deep, in the first half. Still, SNU kept the intensity up on the defensive end of the court by limiting Arkansas Tech (6-11, 3-8 GAC) to just 10-of-25 (40%) from the floor in the first half. This would all lead to a slim 28-27 halftime advantage for the Wonder Boys.
It was actually a strong start early on for Southern Nazarene. They quickly built a 16-5 lead but would go extremely cold from the floor from there. A 19-4 run in favor of Arkansas Tech allowed ATU to grab a 24-20 lead before taking the one point lead into the locker room. SNU went just 2-of-12 from the floor during that run.
The offensive struggles continued early in the second half. SNU saw themselves fall behind 40-32 and were once again faced with an uphill climb. As they have shown all year, though, the Storm were up for the task. The ball movement really picked up from there as the next seven made field goals all came off an assist, including four straight passes leading to layups at the rim.
Southern Nazarene finally grabbed the lead at 46-45. Arkansas Tech took that lead right back the following possession, but again SNU responded, this time with a 9-0 that seemed to put the game away at 54-46. It was certainly not that simple, though, as Tech's full court press proved to be troublesome. SNU turned the ball over on three straight possessions, allowing the Wonder Boys to cut the deficit to just one possession at 57-54 with a minute to play. A pair of Adokiye Iyaye free throws, along with a timely inbounds play that left Manny Dixon wide-open for the game-sealing layup, allowed SNU to finally secure their tenth straight victory.
The scoring was well dispersed for the Storm. Leading the way was Manny Dixon off the bench, who totaled 14 points, securing his third straight game with double-digits. He also hauled in seven boards for the night.
Not far behind him was Jalen Lynn who scored 13 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting night. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
Nick Davis was the other Storm player in double-figures with 10 points.
Xavier Bryant and Mo Wilson II were sensational distributing the basketball. The duo combined for 11 of the team's 13 assists in the game. Bryant also hauled in a season-high 10 boards.
The win streak will truly be put to the test this weekend. SNU now takes on the only two teams between themselves and first place in the Great American Conference. The journey begins in Shawnee with a meeting with the current No. 1 team in the GAC, Oklahoma Baptist, on Thursday. Following that game, SNU will return home to take on second placed Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday. SNU ran away from OBU in the Sawyer Center earlier this month, 93-73. Tipoff with the Bison is set for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.
