BETHANY, Okla.—For the fourth time in the past six years, Southern Nazarene claimed at least a share of the Great American Conference title after their 81-58 victory over Oklahoma Baptist on Monday night. The Crimson Storm are just one win away from another outright conference championship.
After a tight first half that led to just a six point advantage for Southern Nazarene (21-3, 17-1 GAC), the Crimson Storm once again turned up the heat in the second half. SNU used a 15-0 run over a five minute stretch to put the game out of reach for Oklahoma Baptist (12-9, 9-9 GAC).
It was a physical battle throughout the night. The Crimson Storm proved they were not afraid of the contact and found their way to the free-throw line 28 times, the most in a game this season. 21 of those attempts came in the second half as they pulled away from the Bison. The Storm also knocked down 10 shots from deep in the game. They have made at least 10 three-pointers in the three of the last four games. SNU continues to rank 2nd in the nation in three-point percentage at 41.7% this season.
Another big reason the Storm were able to pull away from OBU was the play of Nick Davis, who scored 18 second-half points after being held to just 3 in the first half. He also made life difficult on the Bison on the other end of the court as he protected the paint with 5 blocks, which is a new career high.
Adokiye Iyaye put together his most productive performance since returning from injury. He poured in 19 points after connecting on 3-of-6 shots from deep and 6-of-9 shots overall.
Tyler McGhie added 15 points, while Javon Jackson put up 13 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
The win is Southern Nazarene's 11th consecutive win and 19th of their last 20 games. The run has allowed the Crimson Storm to put themselves in great position to win the Great American Conference with games to spare. Second placed Southern Arkansas took their second consecutive loss on Monday night, earning SNU at least a share of the GAC regular season championship. The Storm now just need just one more win in their final four games to earn their fourth outright championship.
SNU has also put themselves in position for one of the top seeds in the NCAA regional. They currently rank No. 17 in the nation and are battling No. 4 Northwest Missouri State, No. 6 Central Oklahoma, and No. 22 Northern State for the top spots in the Central region.
The Crimson Storm will have their opportunity to clinch their outright championship on Thursday against Southern Arkansas, the only team that can prevent SNU from an outright conference title. SNU defeated Southern Arkansas 77-53 in Bethany earlier this season. Thursday and Saturday mark SNU's final Arkansas trip of the season. They will take on the Muleriders on Thursday night before battling Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday night. Tipoff with the Muleriders is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Storm return to the Sawyer Center for their final home game on February 23rd against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Senior Night.
