OBU Can't Slow Hot Shooting SNU

BETHANY, Okla. - The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team could not overcome a cold first half while Southern Nazarene was red hot all night as they fell to the Crimson Storm 79-62 on Thursday evening at the Sawyer Center.

OBU shot 22 of 48 (46%) from the field, only going 10 of 24 (42%) in the first half before going 12 of 24 (50%) in the second half. The Bison were 7 of 24 (29%) from deep and 11 of 18 (61%) from the free throw line. SNU was 27 of 50 (54%) from the field, 13 of 23 (57%) from deep, and 12 of 13 (92%) from the free throw line.

OBU held a slight 26-25 advantage in boards and were even in assists at 14 a piece. The Bison turned it over 13 times while the Crimson Storm turned it over 11 times. 

SNU raced out to a 15-6 lead thanks in part to a pair of 3-pointers. OBU pushed it back down to five points as Jaquan Simms, Brantly Thompson, and Mohammed Abubakar went to work inside the paint. 

Down 23-17, SNU went on a 9-2 run to push their lead to double digits at 32-19 before a Simms 3-pointer slowed the run and got it back down to 10. SNU responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 16 including a 40-foot three at the end of the shot clock to totally take all of the momentum, eventually taking a 42-26 lead into the break.

SNU got the lead to 20 early in the second half, but OBU continued to fight, making some runs to cut into the deficit. A 4-point play from Harrison Stoddart cut the deficit to 13 with under 12 to play.

The Bison got it as close as 12 and stayed within range for a run, but could not get any closer in the contest as SNU eventually pulled away for the 79-62 win.

Simms scored 19 points on 7 of 11 from the field and 3 of 6 from behind the arc. Rashad Lewis bounced back from a cold first half to score 17 including three 3-pointers. Stoddart scored eight points to go with four boards while Dishon Lowery had six points and five rebounds. 

For SNU, Jhonathan Dunn scored 28 points to go with seven boards while Micah Speight had 24 points and seven assists.

OBU moves to 10-5 overall and 5-4 in the GAC. The Bison will return to action on Saturday in Alva as they take on Northwestern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. at Percefull Fieldhouse.