ALVA, Okla.—In their final road game of the regular season, Southern Nazarene dropped a tough 63-60 contest to Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday night in Alva.
In the first matchup between these teams, Northwestern (20-7, 15-6 GAC) ran away from the Crimson Storm (18-9, 13-8 GAC), but that was certainly not the case on Thursday. Neither team saw a double-digit lead and the lead changed hands seven times before the Rangers finally grabbed the lead for good with a minute to play.
After plenty of back-and-forth action in the first half, Northwestern was able to use a mini run later in the half to capture a 35-27 advantage at the break. Their big advantage came at the free throw line, connecting on 9-of-11 attempts from the stripe. Southern Nazarene would convert all of their attempts, but only fired off four free throws in the first half. For the game, Northwestern finished 14-of-17 (82.4%) from the stripe, while the Storm hit 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the line.
Early in the second half, SNU found themselves trailing by nine, but quickly overcame that deficit with a 14-3 run to jump ahead 42-40. They then used that run to spur them on to a seven point advantage at 54-47. Unfortunately for the Storm, the offense began to stall over the final few minutes of the game. Southern Nazarene did not connect a field goal between the 4:26 and 0:05 marks, both of which were Nick Davis dunks.
The Rangers regained the lead with 1:13 remaining as Bubba Furlong knocked down both attempts at the free throw line to give NWOSU a 59-58 advantage. After SNU was unable to capitalize on their end of the court, a miraculous layup allowed Northwestern a three point lead. Nick Davis would then finally break the Storm's scoreless streak with five seconds remaining, cutting the deficit back to just one point. After drawing the foul, Northwestern calmly knocked down both free throws, forcing the Storm to attempt a three to tie the game. Tyler Mcghie got a decent look from the corner, but the shot came up short, giving Northwestern the slim three point victory.
Tyler McGhie and Manny Dixon led the way offensively for SNU. The two poured in 16 points a piece, while also hauling in three rebounds.
Nick Davis finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, dropping 12 points and securing 9 boards.
The Storm now find themselves in fourth place in the Great American Conference with just one game remaining. SNU will look for revenge against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday. SWOSU got the best of a shorthanded SNU squad back in December in Weatherford. Southern Nazarene will hope to get their revenge and send their seniors out on a high note as the Storm recognize Karsten Berg and Jackson Rothwell for Senior Day. Senior Day festivities will take place between the women's and men's games on Saturday. Tipoff is set for approximately 3:00 p.m. following the Senior Day ceremony.
