ADA, Okla. — Southern Nazarene earned their first GAC victory on Saturday, defeating East Central on their home court, 73-56. 

The Storm (4-2,1-1 GAC) knocked down 10 total threes against the Tigers (4-3,1-1 GAC), finishing 41.6% from the behind the arc, SNU also out-rebounded East Central 34 to 19, holding the Tigers to just one second chance point the entire game. 

East Central knocked down the first five points of the game, but SNU was quick to gain the lead, exploding for a 14-0 run before the Tigers hit another bucket. Shawn Barthemely and Cam Slaymaker drained back to back threes to push SNU up to a 22-14 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half. ECU cut that deficit back down to five, but a few Storm free throws helped extend the gap back to seven. 

The two squads continued to trade points for the remainder of the half and SNU held on tight to their lead heading into the break, up 36-25 over the Tigers.

SNU dropped in the first two buckets of the second half to grow their lead even more and Jaxon Edelmayer made some noise with a triple, pushing SNU's lead to 43-27. ECU looked to fight the deficit, but the Storm had an answer for every Tiger offensive attack. 

With just under 14 minutes left in the second half, East Central was able to bring the scoring gap down to eight, but a Keeshawn Mason layup followed by a Slaymaker three ball but SNU ahead again by 13. Back-two-back jumpers from ECU allowed them back within just nine points with 6:30 remaining on the clock, but Southern Nazarene left any comeback out of sight. Slaymaker drained another three and multiple Storm members went to work in the paint, dropping in a few buckets to get back up to a 14-point lead with just under five minutes left in the game. 

Free throws were the highlight of the remaining four minutes as ECU looked for quick fouls to stop the clock. Southern Nazarene was unfazed and continued to deliver at the line while the Tigers dropped in a few of their own. Southern Nazarene's lead was too far for ECU to reach and the Storm picked up their first conference victory of the 2023-2024 season, defeating the Tigers 73-56.

Slaymaker led SNU in scoring with 20 points and Edelmayer followed with 16 points, also bringing down five boards. 

Ben Baker-McCann was the other player in double figures with 14 points and nine boards. 

Jonas Visser led SNU in rebounding with 10, also recording eight points. 

Up Next 

Southern Nazarene will be at home next Saturday on December 9th to host Northwestern Oklahoma State at 3:00 p.m.