Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – First-Team All-GAC selection Micah Speight shouldered the scoring load in the Southern Nazarene’s 61-49 win against Ouachita in Thursday’s second Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal affair from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
Speight finished as the lone Crimson Storm starter to reach double figures as he tallied 24 points. He added six rebounds and six assists. He scored 18 of his points on six first-half 3-pointers. The Defensive Player of the Year added to his conference record steals count as he picked up three.
 
Southern Nazarene (24-7) overcame a rare off night offensively from Jhonathan Dunn. The league’s Player of the Year scored only eight points. He did collect a team-leading seven rebounds. Manny Dixon came off the bench to score 10 points in 21 minutes of action. He added eight rebounds.
 
The Tiger (12-16) offense struggled to find consistency as they shot just 31.7 percent from the field and made only 4-of-23 3-point tries. Kendarious Smith went 7-for-13 in scoring 16 points. Eric Brown added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
 
Thursday’s meeting represented the fifth-straight year In which the Crimson Storm and Tigers squared off in quarterfinals of the GAC Championships. After losing the first two encounters, Southern Nazarene has eliminated Ouachita in each of the past three events.
 
With the victory, Southern Nazarene earned a spot in the semifinals for the third straight year. The Crimson Storm have won seven-straight GAC Championship games. Southern Nazarene will take on the winner of Friday’s Oklahoma Baptist and East Central contest at noon on Saturday. During the regular season, the Crimson Storm defeated both the Bison and Tigers at home, but lost one-possession games on the road.