SHAWNEE, Okla.—The lid never came off the bucket for No. 11 Southern Nazarene on Thursday night as they fell 70-67 in a shocker to eighth seeded Ouachita Baptist in the Great American Conference Quarterfinals at the Firelake Arena.
Southern Nazarene (25-4, 21-1 GAC) came into Thursday's quarterfinal matchup as the heavy favorites in the GAC tournament, having won the regular season championship by a record six games. The Crimson Storm defeated Ouachita Baptist (12-15, 9-13 GAC) twice earlier this season, but the Tigers put together a near-perfect performance on Thursday night to stun the Great American Conference regular season champions.
The Crimson Storm seemed to struggle to find any shots to fall from any area on the court. They were just 23-of-56 (41.1%) from the field, 7-of-26 (26.9%) from beyond the arc, and 14-of-24 (58.3%) from the free throw line.
Ouachita struggled from the charity stripe as well, but made up for that by shooting 6-for-11 (54.5%) from behind the arc.
The teams traded punches early in the first half, but Ouachita ultimately grabbed a slim 28-26 lead at halftime. Out of the break, SNU seemed to find some quick energy with a 5-0 burst to begin the second half, but that did not last as Ouachita opened the game up with a 12-0 run that saw the Tigers push in front 40-31. From there, SNU never recovered. Each push the Crimson Storm made, Ouachita answered and continued rebuilding their lead.
Southern Nazarene finally pushed back within five points with just over one minute remaining when Javon Jackson knocked down a pair of free throws. Following a defensive stop, the Crimson Storm got within one possession after a pair of Tyler McGhie free throws. On the other end of the court, Ouachita's Ma'Darius Hobson missed back-to-back free throws, keeping SNU alive. A tough contested shot did not fall and Ouachita grabbed the rebound.
After another foul, Ouachita split their free throws to go up 69-65 with 11 seconds to play. Javon Jackson raced down the court and layed it in, cutting deficit to two points with five seconds remaining. SNU quickly fouled and once again Ouachita split their free throws, leaving the Crimson Storm with one opportunity to tie the game. The frantic final possession got away from the Crimson Storm as the ball popped loose, leading to a desperation heave from Javon Jackson that came up empty, allowing the Tigers to take the 70-67 win over Southern Nazarene.
The 70 points allowed by Southern Nazarene were the most points SNU has allowed in regulation since a 74-71 loss at Dallas Baptist, all the way back November 23rd. Coming into Thursday's game, SNU was allowing just 57 points per game.
Javon Jackson led the scoring for SNU, putting up 16 points. Adokiye Iyaye helped keep the Crimson Storm in the game in the second half, scoring all 14 of his points in those final 20 minutes.
SNU was without reigning GAC Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Davis for the final six and a half minutes of the game after Davis fouled out. Davis finished two points shy of a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Ouachita's Ma'Darius Hobson was nearly unstoppable in the game as he continually made difficult shots on his way to 27 points. He was averaging 14.7 points per game coming into Thursday's action.
With the loss in the GAC tournament, Southern Nazarene now must rely on the NCAA Central Region committee in order to earn a nod to the NCAA Central Region tournament. The GAC, MIAA, and NSIC tournament champions all receive automatic bids to the Central Region tournament, leaving five at-large bids for the remaining schools in those conferences. Coming into the tournament, SNU ranked 3rd and had the second highest performance indicator in the region, behind Northwest Missouri State. They rank No. 11 in both the NABC Coaches Poll, and the D2SIDA Media Poll.
The Crimson Storm will know their fate on Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. during the NCAA DII Selection Show. The Selection Show will be aired at NCAA.com.
