Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southern Nazarene made Great American Conference history as the Crimson Storm became the first program to win consecutive Men’s Basketball Championship titles as they won a back-and-forth affair against Southeastern Oklahoma State, 80-77, on Sunday from the Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
In just the second GAC Championship final to feature the tournament’s top two seeds, the contest featured 16 ties and 18 lead changes and neither squad led by more than six points the entire way. Tournament MVP Micah Speight secured the win when he scored the final five points for the Crimson Storm (28-5).
 
After Kevin Buckingham’s third 3-pointer of the game for the Savage Storm (22-7) tied the game at 75, Speight answered with a corner 3-pointer to put Southern Nazarene back in front. Following a defensive stand, Speight knifed through the Southeastern defense and lofted in a floater from the inside the paint.
 
The Savage Storm’s Jett Jobe responded with a layup of his own. Southeastern got a needed defensive stop on the ensuing possession. Shooting for the tie, Buckingham’s last-second 3-point try missed long and Southern Nazarene clinched its GAC-record 28^th win.
 
Speight went 12-for-21 from the floor in scoring 26 points for the second-straight GAC Championship contest. He averaged 22.0 points, 7.7 rebounds. 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor. Jhonathan Dunn and Noah Starkey joined Speight on the All-Tournament Team. Dunn finished the day with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Starkey, the GAC Defensive Player of the Year, added 12 points and four blocks.
 
Buckingham finished with 27 points, the single-game high at the 2019 GAC Championships. He also pulled down 11 rebounds as he made the All-Tournament squad. Adam Dworsky and Kellen Manek earned All-Tournament honors for the Savage Storm. Oklahoma Baptist’s Brantly Thompson and Henderson State’s Joshua Jones rounded out the eight-man team.
 
The Crimson Storm will learn their seed and destination for the upcoming NCAA Division II Championships during tonight’s selection show. It streams on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m. Southeastern Oklahoma State looks to earn a spot in the field of with an at-large selection.