SHAWNEE, Okla. —  Southern Nazarene Men's Basketball pulled out a huge road victory Thursday evening, defeating Oklahoma Baptist by just a single point in Shawnee with the help of a double-double performance from SNU's graduate center Jonas Visser. 

After working through a tough two-game road skid last week, the Storm (7-9,4-7 GAC) chalked up an epic defeat of the Bison (7-10,4-7 GAC) on OBU's home floor, pulling away late in the second half that left no room for a Bison comeback. Southern Nazarene outshot Oklahoma Baptist, shooting 53% from the field, thanks to impressive performances from Visser and Slaymaker who combined for 45 points on the night. Along with Visser's 24 points, he also grabbed 11 boards on the evening to notch his first double-double in the Storm uniform. 

The Visser-Slaymaker duo started the Storm off on the right foot, opening the contest with four quick points. The two teams worked through a few lead changes within the first couple of minutes, but Southern Nazarene caught fire at the nine-minute mark, after Visser ended a 20-20 tie with a bucket in the paint. Visser's lay-in kickstarted a 10-0 Storm run that shot SNU ahead of the Bison 30-20 with five minutes left in the first half. 

Oklahoma Baptist was quick with a response and snagged a few points to cut their deficit down to four points with two minutes remaining. Benno Zecic and Visser teamed up for the last two buckets of the opening half to propel SNU ahead of the Bison 38-30 heading into halftime. 

Southern Nazarene's halftime lead was untouched in the first six five minutes of the second half until a few Bison free throws allowed OBU to sneak back within four points at 47-43. Points from Zecic, Visser, and Slaymaker put SNU back ahead by six and they were able to control that lead for the majority of the second half until OBU ignited their offense in the final minute of the ballgame. With SNU ahead by eight, the Bison went to work chipping away at the deficit, forcing a few turnovers on the Storm to then earn trips to the free throw line. 

OBU made things interesting in the final few seconds, coming within one point of the Storm after two made free-throws, causing head Coach BJ Foster to take time with just two seconds on the game clock. In the next possession, the Bison took time as well to set up the game-winning shot, but that shot was off the mark, and the final buzzer sounded, leaving Southern Nazarene victorious in rival territory by a final score of 73-72. 

Along with the 45 combined points from Visser and Slaymaker, Zecic nearly had a double-double as well, scoring 10 points and recording nine assists. 

Up Next

Southern Nazarene will finally be back inside the Sawyer Center, Saturday, January 27th to take on the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. Southeastern defeated the Storm back in November in Durant and Southern Nazarene will look to rewrite the script on Saturday on their home floor.