SOUTHERN NAZARENE CLAIMS OVERTIME VICTORY; ADVANCES TO #theGAC SEMIFINALS
Courtesy SNUAthletics.com
SHAWNEE, Okla. – The saga continues for Southern Nazarene Men's Basketball as they took down Arkansas-Monticello in overtime of the quarterfinals of the GAC Championships, 72-70.
SNU Head Coach BJ Foster has made a name for himself stepping into his first season with the Storm (15-13, 11-11 GAC), coaching a new team to become the fourth seed in Great American Conference Tournament. Foster alongside his coaching staff and a gritty basketball squad pieced together an epic victory inside Firelake Arena Friday afternoon, edging the No. 5 seeded Weevils (13-15,11-11 GAC) in overtime at the charity stripe, thanks to two swishes from senior Tyrell Coleman.
Despite the three ball being non existent for the Storm on Friday, they made up for it in another ways, knocking down 17 of their 23 free throws and shooting 47 percent from the field. The SNU defense was also on high alert as they forced 14 turnovers on the Weevils that contributed to 10 points for the Storm. SNU controlled the lead for a majority of the contest, the UAM delivered in crunch with a game-tying three ball that sent the contest into extra time. The Storm fought the entire five minutes and Coleman was able to seal SNU's winning fate at the free throw line with just three seconds left on the clock, stamping the 72-70 victory to keep their post-season alive.
Jonas Visser poured in the first six points for the Storm to give them a small advantage two minutes into the contest. A pair of UAM free throws finally got them on the board and the two teams went to battle. After the two squads traded a few buckets and swishes from the free throw line, Tyrell Coleman felt the the Storm needed a bit of a boost. With SNU ahead by five just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half, Coleman exploded for a 7-0 run by himself, pushing the Storm in front 23-11 with eight minutes left before the halftime buzzer.
The Weevils cut their lead down to seven with a three ball and another jumper, but Ben Baker-McCann put them back behind by nine as he danced his way into the paint for a layup. UAM slowly closed the gap even more with a 7-0 run of their own to cut the Storm's lead down to just a single point with three minutes left in the first half. Coleman attacked the UAM defense once more and helped SNU back up to a two-point lead with just under a minute left. The Weevils were able to utilize a foul to drop in two free throws to tie the Storm at 31-31 heading into halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, when one team scored the other answered, leading to multiple ties before the Storm would achieve the four-point edge. After a Cam Slaymaker jumper, Coleman drew a foul to return to the free throw line once more, swishing both to earn SNU the 45-41 lead with just under 13 minutes left on the clock. The back-and-forth affair picked up once again, highlighted by back-to-back daggers from both squads that put the contest at a 50-50 tie. As the clock dwindled, Keeshawn Mason came in off the bench and dropped in two quick layups for the Storm to keep them ahead by two with three minutes left in the contest. Over the next few possessions, Slaymaker was sent to the line with 13 seconds left and nailed two more free throws for SNU, awarding his team the three point lead with one final possession left for the Weevils. UAM was not ready for their season to end just yet as Zane Nelson launched a shot from beyond the arc with just three seconds remaining, beating the buzzer and getting the shot to go to send the game into overtime at 64-all.
In the first minute of overtime, SNU was able to gain the one-point lead from a Slaymkaer free throw and a Baker-McCann jumper. Zecic made it a three-point game with just 2:36 reading on the game clock with a driving layup, applying pressure on the Weevils. UAM struggled to answer in the next possession and Mason made them pay at the free throw line, knocking down another free throw for the Storm to gain the 70-66 lead with 45 seconds remaining. The Weevils slowly crept back into the contest after a bucket and free throw, tying the game once more at 70-all.
The Storm were handed the last possession of the ballgame, looking to melt the clock and put up the last second shot for the victory. The Weevils committed a costly foul with just five seconds left, sending Coleman to the line for two. Coleman sunk in both for the Strom to put them ahead by two with only three seconds left for the Weevils to work some magic. UAM's Zane Nelson was left to throw up a hail-marry three and it was off the mark, sealing SNU's winning fate by a final score of 72-70.
Coleman's game-winning free throws were just a highlight of his career-high 28 points and eight rebounds. Visser poured in 12 points while Baker-McCann followed with 10 as the other double-digit scorer for the Storm. Zecic found every way to get his teammates the ball, racking up eight assist against UAM.
The win over UAM grants SNU a trip to a semifinals match against the top-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma State who defeated eighth-seed Southern Arkansas on Thursday. The Storm have dropped both regular season contests to the Savage Storm, but look to rewrite the story on Saturday at noon.