BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Three years ago, Oklahoma Baptist had just finished last in the GAC while Southern Nazarene was capping off their first regular season title which led to a tournament title for the Crimson Storm.
It was the start of something special for SNU, who has been the gold standard of the GAC the last three seasons.
On Saturday afternoon, an Oklahoma Baptist team, which still had players who endured those tough seasons, completed something special of their own as they dethroned the champs in the semifinals of the GAC Tournament.
The Bison used another hot shooting afternoon and smothering defense to knock off three-time GAC Regular Season Champion and back-to-back tournament champion Southern Nazarene in completely dominant fashion, 77-61, to end the Storm's quest for a 3-peat as well as their seven game winning streak at the GAC Tournament.
The win give OBU their first ever Division II era appearance in the conference championship game, a tremendous turnaround from finishing 12th in the GAC just three years ago.
Oklahoma Baptist moved to 22-8 overall and have now won two straight over the Crimson Storm.
The Bison were phenomenal as they played maybe their most complete game of the season. The Bison were 29 of 53 (55%) from the field and 8 of 23 (35%) from deep to go with 11 of 16 (69%) from the free throw line. On the other end, OBU held SNU to a season-low 20 of 62 (32%) from the field and 7 of 31 (23%) from deep. The Crimson Storm were 14 of 17 (82%) from the line.
Oklahoma Baptist held a 40-30 advantage in rebounds and completely dominated the the paint, outscoring the Storm 38-22. OBU held an excellent SNU offense to eight total assists while finishing with 17 of their own.
It was the start of dreams for the Bison as seven straight points from
Harrison Stoddart followed by
Dishon Lowery,
Rashad Lewis, and
Jarius Hicklen opened up a 13-0 lead over the Crimson Storm. SNU cut it to 13-5, but OBU responded with five straight points from
Brantly Thompson followed by a lay in from Lowery and a 3-pointer from
Jaquan Simms to lead 23-5.
The Bison were relentless, never letting up on the lead or their defensive pressure in the first half as SNU only shot 23 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, the Bison offense was unconscious, shooting 60 percent from the field. The trio of Thompson, Stoddart, and Lowery were nearly unstoppable as the OBU lead crept to 20 points with five minutes to play in the half.
A 3-pointer from Thompson and another lay in from Lowery got the lead out to 24 points, but SNU closed the gap to 20 before the break. The Bison still had all the momentum though, leading 43-23.
The crowd expected a patented SNU run to come, but it was OBU who was hot in the second half as they scored the first six points, including a Simms 3-pointer, to lead 49-23. That lead would creep up to 28 at 61-33 with 12 minutes to play in the contest.
Southern Nazarene fought like the champions they had been so many times and found a run late in the second half, but it was way too late as the Bison damage was already done. OBU would get a key bucket numerous times before Southern Nazarene could make any kind of impact. The Bison used free throws late to close out the 77-61 victory.
Stoddart had 17 points on 6 of 8 shooting including 11 rebounds and two blocks while Lowery had 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting to go with 10 boards. Thompson had 13 points and five assists while Simms had 13 to go with three rebounds. Lewis had eight points and seven assists while
Jarius Hicklen scored five to go with three boards.
Micah Speight scored 20 to go with three steals for SNU while Jhonathan Dunn had 19.
The Bison move to Sunday's championship game and will take on the No. 3 seeded Henderson State Reddies. The Reddies knocked off No. 2 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State later in the day in a thrilling contest.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Bruin Field House in Bartlesville.
