RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.—The ultimate back-and-forth game saw Southern Nazarene earn their fifth second half comeback win of the year in a wild 61-55 victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Southern Nazarene (17-6, 12-5 GAC) looked dead to rights late in the second half after Arkansas Tech (8-14, 5-11 GAC) put together a 12-0 run that gave them a 55-46 advantage with just five minutes to play. The Wonder Boys scoring ended there, though, as stifling defense led to the Crimson Storm closing the game on a 15-0 run to steal the win.
It was a game full of runs. The Crimson Storm ran out of the gates and opened up an 8-0 lead. The Wonder Boys quickly responded, though, with a 12-2 run. Later in the first half, SNU put together another run, this time at 12-0, and would settle for a 36-28 halftime lead.
The beginning of the second half saw all the momentum swing with Arkansas Tech. They opened up the half on a 9-0 run to regain the lead. The teams then traded buckets throughout the majority of the second half, but Arkansas Tech seized control from the eight minute mark to the five minute mark with a 12-0 run to give them a nine point advantage.
It did not take long for SNU to recover, though. Tyler McGhie was fouled on a three-point attempt. He calmly knocked down all three. Stifling defense then kept Tech off the board and the Storm took advantage scoring on each offensive possession down the stretch. They tied the game at the two minute mark on a Xavier Bryant jumper, and grabbed the lead one minute later on another Xavier Bryant bucket. Bryant was a stat stuffer all afternoon, totaling 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and a pair of steals.
The Crimson Storm iced the game at the free throw line, closing out the game 7-for-7 from the stripe.
Nick Davis led the team with 16 points. Adokiye Iyaye also finished with double-figures, totaling 11 points in the game. Iyaye has reached double-figures in four consecutive games.
The comeback win was big for a number of reasons, including the fact that current first placed Oklahoma Baptist suffered an upset loss to Harding on Saturday afternoon. Northwestern Oklahoma State also suffered an upset loss on Saturday, now leaving Southern Nazarene in sole possession of third place, and just one game out of first place.
The Storm have a chance to make up that game on Oklahoma Baptist this Monday as SNU travels to Shawnee to do battle with the Bison. Southern Nazarene ran OBU out of the gym in Bethany earlier this season, defeating the Bison 93-73. The Crimson Storm will look to make it a season sweep over the Bison on Monday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.
