Box Score

BETHANY, Okla. (Dec. 1, 2007) - No. 9 Southern Nazarene overcame a 16-0 game-opening run by Oklahoma Christian to defeat the Eagles 72-65 Saturday.

The Eagles fell to 0-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference and 3-6 overall. SNU moved to 1-1 and 5-3.

"I'm discouraged with the loss, but I'm pleased with my kids," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "They're working hard and getting better. We played our 15 best minutes of the year. We just need to keep with it and hopefully we can build that to 20, 25; 30 or 35 minutes as we move forward."

The Eagles built their 16-0 lead Saturday with five points each from Jason Taylor and Jon Jonsson, followed by a Kyle Tefft three-point play and a long-distance trey by David Jackson.

SNU didn't score until Marvin Smith hit a three-pointer with 13:35 remaining in the first half, but that sparked a 16-6 run that cut OC's advantage to 22-16 with 9:17 left.

OC held off the Crimson Storm charge until late in the first half, when consecutive three-pointers by David Sykes and a Milorad Damjanac free throw sliced the Eagle lead to 35-33 at the 2:05 mark.

But a Jackson three-pointer and Tefft basket helped extend OC's lead to 40-33 at the halftime break.

SNU roared out of the locker room with a 10-0 run to start the second half. Back-to-back treys from Tyree Scott and Brent Kimmel and a pair of inside buckets by Earl Isaacson powered SNU to a 45-40 lead.

A Jeff Crocker three-pointer made it 45-43 at the 17:07 mark, but the Crimson Storm extended the lead to 54-45 on fast-break layups by Scott, a Jerayle Franklin three-pointer and a Damjanac basket.

Oklahoma Christian hung around and pulled within 60-57 with 4:34 left when Crocker nailed a left-wing trey, but back-to-back baskets by Brandon Durham pushed SNU's lead up to 64-57 and the Storm held on for the win.

Tefft (19 points) paced four Eagles in double figures. Jon Jonsson scored 15, Crocker scored 13 and Taylor totaled 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Durham scored 16 points to lead SNU.