BETHANY, Okla. — It was another great afternoon in Sawyer as Southern Nazarene held on to their late lead with a huge defensive showing against Henderson State,  claiming the 76-72 win for their second consecutive win as of late. 

The Storm (9-10, 6-8 GAC) erased the woes of their 14-point loss to the Reddies (6-13,5-9 GAC) back in January and worked wonders in the final few moments of their matchup on Saturday, defending their lead with two clutch defensive stops in the Reddies' last two possessions of the ballgame. The Storm also forced 16 Reddie turnovers that turned into 27 total points for SNU, making it a big defensive day for Southern Nazarene overall. 

Henderson State wasted no time making some noise in Bethany with an 8-0 run that pushed SNU to take a quick time out. The Storm were able to score six before Henderson exploded once more, building up to a 20-6 lead. The theme remained until Southern Nazarene had enough and amped up their offense at the 9:30 mark.

SNU's starting group erased the 15-point gap with ease, responding with a 15-0 run that startled the Reddies, who were soon faced with a 26-26 tie. Henderson State worked quickly to stretch their lead once more, working back up to a 12-point advantage with just under two minutes left in the first half. Benno Zecic and Shawn Barthelemy worked together to cut the gap with the little time remaining, putting SNU behind by four heading into halftime. 

The Reddies stayed the distance seven minutes into the second half, until the Storm had other plans, using points from Zecic and Can Slaymaker to reach a 50-56 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the ballgame. Free throws kept the Reddies close to SNU throughout the next few minutes, but the Zecic-Slaymaker duo continued to set Henderson State back more and more with the final few minutes remaining. 

A pair of free throws from the Reddies made things interesting in the final minute and a half, placing them within two of the Storm at 70-72. Jaxon Edelmayer executed a great offensive scheme and layed one in for the Storm with one minute left on the clock. Two more Reddie free throws repeated the two-point gap, but SNU's defense put up a wall in the Reddies' last possession of the game, coming up with back-to-back blocks against Henderson State.

Ben Baker-McCann pulled down a rebound after another Reddie missed shot attempt and was fouled, getting the opportunity to put Henderson State away for good. He sank both at the charity stripe to earn the Storm the 76-72 lead, allowing SNU enough cushion in the last five seconds of the ballgame. Henderson lifted up a three ball but it was no good, leaving SNU to scrape up the gritty 76-72 victory inside the Sawyer Center.

Zecic, Visser, and Slaymaker all reached double digit scoring for the Storm, posting 19, 17, and 16 points, respectively. Visser nearly had a double-double with nine boards. 

Up Next 

Southern Nazarene looks to continue their hot streak as they head back on the road to take on Arkansas Tech on February 8th at 7:30 p.m. SNU upset the Wonder Boys a few weeks back in Bethany and look to do the same in Russellville next Thursday.