ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Southern Nazarene Men's Basketball's first action of the new year does not result the way they had hoped as they fell by 14 in Arkadelphia to Henderson State.
The Crimson Storm (4-6,1-4 GAC) looked to use the holiday break as a fresh start after struggling through a three-game losing streak prior to their first 2024 matchup with the Reddies (4-6,3-2 GAC). Unfortunately, 22 Storm turnovers and a second half burst from Henderson State was all it took for SNU to fall short in their first GAC contest of the new year.
It was tight ballgame the first 20 minutes, with the exception of one huge scoring run put on by Southern Nazarene at the halfway point.
Cam Slaymaker dropped in the first bucket of the game and the two teams answered one another from there. The Reddies were able to work up to a 7-5 lead before both teams grew cold on the offensive end for nearly three minutes time.
Ben Baker-McCann finally awakened the Crimson Storm offense with a layup inside and the scoreboard read 7-7 with 14:12 remaining in the first half. The lead teetered and both teams fought to tie the game numeorus times until Southern Nazarene exploded on offense, beginning with a jumper from
Kent Girard that placed SNU ahead 18-17. Girard's jumper sparked an incredible 10-0 run that ate up nearly three minutes on the game clock and SNU found themselves ahead 26-17 over the Reddies.
Henderson State worked quick to chip away at the Storm lead, finding gaps in SNU's defense to cut their lead down to two at 26-24 with just under five minutes left in half one. SNU stayed ahead for the majority of the time remaining, but a couple of free throws and a three ball from Henderson State gave them the 36-35 advantage heading into halftime.
After the two squads traded threes to kick off the second half, that marked the last tie of the game at 41 all. Henderson State's break-away point followed after they ignited for a 12-0 run to lead the Storm 53-41. Slaymaker finally stopped the bleeding with a lauyp and free throw, putting the Storm behind 11 with just under 15 minutes left in the ballgame.
In those final 14 minutes, Southern Nazarene was never able to close the scoring gap down for an easy comeback. At the 10 minute mark in the second half, Slaymaker's bucket put the Storm within 10 points of the Reddies at 62-52, the shortest gap for the remainder of the contest. Henderson State made SNU pay on the defensive end, forcing a few turnovers and turning those into points on the other end of the court.
The Storm fought in the final few moments for a change in momentum, but the Reddies knocked down a few free throws late to keep the Storm at bay, handing SNU their first loss, 86-72, of 2024 and their fourth GAC loss this season.
Baker-McCann and Slaymaker held the team-highs in scoring with 17 and 16 respectively.
Tyrell Coleman brought down a team-high seven boards.
Up Next
Southern Nazarene will remain in Arkadelphia as they are set to take on Ouchita Baptist on Saturday, January 6th at 3:00 p.m. The Storm have a shot at making some noise on the Tigers' home court as Ouachita Baptist is also 1-4 in conference play.
