Feb. 8, 2008

* NAIA Scoreboard
* NAIA Weekly

BETHANY, Okla. - The No. 17 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) men's basketball team defeated the seventh ranked Oklahoma City Stars on Thursday (Feb. 7).  The 85-81 overtime win put the Storm at 10-4 in conference play and 15-6 on the season.

It was a surprisingly low scoring defensive battle in the first period.

Little by little, the Stars were able to mount an eight-point lead at the half.  OCU led in shooting as well at 39% from the field and 44% from three while the Storm were 31% from the field and 25% from three.

Brent Kimmel came up big for the Storm in the first period with points and one rebound.  Earl Isaacson added six points while Toliver Thomas closed the night with four points and three rebounds. 

For the Stars, Ollie Bailey led the way with nine points and five rebounds.  Ronald Taylor followed suit, scoring eight points and getting one rebound while Rich Jackson added seven points in the half. 

The Storm quickly tied it up early in the second, knotting the game at 35-35 on a lay-up by Toliver Thomas with 17:56 to play. SNU took the lead one minute later as Tyree Scott drained a three-pointer, giving the Storm a 38-35 advantage.

SNU held the lead for the next four minutes and would go up by as many as seven points, 50-43, with 12:26 to play as Brandon Durham drained a three-pointer.

The Stars responded to their biggest deficit of the game by outscoring SNU, 9-0, in the next two and a half minutes and gained a 52-50 lead with 10:01 to play after a dunk by Jason Arbet.

OCU held the lead for the next five minutes, leading by as many as five points, but SNU answered back, tying the game at 57-57 with 5:06 to play after Jerayle Franklin knocked down a free throw.

The game seesawed back-and-forth for the next two and a half minutes and the Stars held a 65-61 lead with 2:44 to play in regulation.

SNU cut the OCU lead to 65-63 with 2:30 to play on a Brandon Durham jumper.  The Storm then trimmed the Stars lead to one at 65-64 with 1:18 to play on a made free throw from Toliver Thomas.

After a missed three-pointer from Richard Jackson and a turnover by the Stars, SNU capitalized on the turnover and scored the go-ahead bucket on a Brent Kimmel lay-up with nine seconds to play.

On the inbounds, OCU turned the ball over and the Stars were forced to foul, sending Brent Kimmel to the free throw line.  Kimmel delivered two made free throws, putting the Storm ahead, 68-65, with seven seconds to play.

SNU seemed to have the game in control, but OCU's Kameron Gray drained a contested three at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime, tied at 68-68.

Heading into overtime, OCU jumped out early, scoring the first bucket of OT on an Ollie Bailey made jumper, but SNU answered back, taking the lead 71-70 with 3:47 to play in overtime on a lay-up and made free throw from Brandon Durham.

OCU responded by regaining the lead on another jumper from Bailey and then went up by three as Ronald Taylor picked up a steal and dunk; giving the Stars a 74-71 advantage with 3:06 to go in overtime.

SNU knotted the game at 74-74 as Brandon Durham answered with a three at the 2:40 mark. 

Brent Kimmel put SNU up for good, knocking down a lay-up with 1:45 to play, giving SNU a 76-74 advantage.

Jerayle Franklin put the Storm up 78-74 on a lay-up with :55 seconds to play.  OCU trimmed the Storm's lead to two points, 78-76, with :39 seconds to play, but on the inbounds, SNU's Brandon Durham broke the Stars press and found a wide open Earl Isaacson on the opposite end of the court and Isaacson knocked down the lay-up and was fouled. Isaacson drained the free throw, giving the Storm a 81-76 lead with :31 seconds to play.

OCU's Kameron Gray was fouled on the next possession and hit both free throws, again trimming SNU's lead to 81-78 with :25 seconds to play. 

This time, Tyree Scott was sent to the free throw line and Scott delivered two made free throws, stretching SNU's lead to two possessions at 83-78 with :21 seconds to play.

Gray was again fouled on the next possessions, this time on a three-point attempt and Gray dropped in three free throws, cutting the Storm's lead to 83-81 with :15 seconds to play.

SNU again broke the Stars full court pressure and nearly got a made layup from Brent Kimmel, but Kimmel's attempt rimmed out, however, luckily for the Storm, Earl Isaacson was there to grab the rebound and Isaacson was immediately fouled. Isaacson drained both free throws, putting SNU ahead, 85-81, with :07 seconds to play. 

OCU's last second three-pointer fell short and the Storm grabbed the 85-81 upset victory.

The Stars were 42% from both the field and three while SNU shot 41% from the field and 33% from three.

Brandon Durham dominated in the second period, scoring 17 of his 20 points five of his seven rebounds.  Kimmel was right behind with 19 points and four rebounds on the evening while Isaacson added seven for 15 points and six rebounds. Jerayle Franklin took down 16 rebounds on the game.

Bailey closed the game with 23 points and six rebounds for OCU while Taylor picked up 20 points and four rebounds. Kameron Gray added 15 points and four rebounds on the night as Jackson got 11 points and 2 rebounds.

SNU will host Mid-America Christian on Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m.