(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm welcomed the Central Bible College Spartans to Bethany this evening, where they defeated them 72-43. This victory moved SNU to 4-1 on the season.

Box Score

The first points of the game were put up by SNU’s Vladimir Bulut, who made a layup on a baseline drive. He was immediately followed by A.J. Thomas, who hit a three pointer to put the Crimson Storm up 5-0.

The very next SNU possession came on a steal by Thomas, who threw an alley-oop to Xavier Alexander, who threw it down for the first dunk of the night. Thomas would steal the ball again on the Spartans’ next possession, keeping it this time for an uncontested layup. Adrian Hunter would hit his first shot attempt of the night for 3 more points, putting the score at 11-3 before CBC could respond with anything consequential.

But respond they did, despite being out-sized and out-brawned in every position, the Spartans went on an 8-0 run to tie the game up.

Thereafter the extended runs by each team disappeared as each team sought to play to its strengths. With the referees calling the game very tightly, both teams found themselves struggling to gain advantage underneath the basket without drawing a whistle. Nevertheless, the Crimson Storm faithful were treated to another dunk, this one from Jeremy Lightfoot, who received a pass from Alexander has he came from the baseline.

Several of the Spartans’ points in the first half came from the foul line, a place they visited often at the demand of the referee’s whistle.

It was good to see Jon West back on the floor hitting 3-pointers, returning from his injury.  With 3:40 remaining in the half Alexander found the ball tipped to him off a steal, and the open court in front of him, his dunk was thrown down at such a steep angle that the ball bounced off his shoulders as he flew beneath the hoop. After twenty minutes of play, the score sat at 44-25.

Play was slow as the teams came out in the second half. SNU had scored only 4 points in the same number of minutes before Lightfoot put down his second dunk of the evening, this one over the top of a Spartans defender.

As the half continued, the margin of SNU’s lead increased bit by bit. With only 6:00 remaining, SNU had only scored 18 points since the half, but they were up 30 points as opposed to the 19 points they led by after the first half. Strong defense kept the Spartans from scoring much except at the foul line, which the refs continued to send them to. After attaining that lead, however, the Crimson Storm ceased to pull away, so that, with 3 minutes left in the game the score sat at 68-38.

Those last three minutes passed slowly, though the pace with which the ball was moved up and down the court sped up. Strong play off the bench maintained the SNU lead and the game ended with a score of 72-43.

Jeremy Lightfoot led the team in scoring with 16 points, followed closely by A.J. Thomas and Xavier Alexander who each had 12. Kyle Boen and Clement N’Gom led with four rebounds apiece.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm men’s basketball team fell 69-74 to Davenport University on Saturday evening on day two of the men’s basketball classic. SNU battled until the end, but the Panthers came out on top, capitalizing on their sound fast break throughout the game. The loss was SNU’s first of the season, dropping them to 3-1.

Box Score

Both Southern Nazarene and Davenport got off to a slow start offensively, and both teams struggled to reach double digits before the ten-minute mark of the half. The defensive battle early on left SNU trailing midway through the half.

With the chance to get into double digits just before the clocked ticked below ten minutes, SNU’s Xavier Alexander could not find the bottom of the net, going 0-for-2 from the line. The Panthers led 15-9 with nine minutes to play in the half, and the Storm continued to struggle on the offensive end, committing player control fouls and missing several shots.

Fortunately for SNU, the Panthers struggled as well, turning the ball over several times. With momentum on their side, the Storm looked to chip away at Davenports lead little by little. AJ Thomas knocked down two free throws to give SNU a little life, and after the Panthers responded with a short jumper, Thomas drained a shot from behind the arc to narrow the Davenport lead a little more. Trailing 14-17 with 7:31 to play in the half, the Storm looked to get stops on the defensive end in order to take a lead.

The Panthers continued to find the bottom of the net, however, and cushioned their lead by responding to most of SNU’s buckets. With 4:17 in the half, Davenport found an easy bucket in the paint and went ahead 25-18. But the Storm refused to back down, outscoring the Panthers eight to six in the final four minutes of the half. The effort left the Storm trailing by just five at the half, 26-31.

SNU came out hungry for a lead in the second half, and Vladimir Bulut knocked down a trey ball to cut the Panthers lead to just two points on the first Storm possession of the night. Davenport responded with a three of their own to regain a five-point lead, but Thomas knocked down a jumper on the other end for SNU to narrow the gap. Picking up a stop on the defensive end, the Storm gave themselves an opportunity to get the game within a point, and Bulut knocked down a jumper with 18:07 to play, making the score 34-33.

SNU continued to chip away at Davenport’s lead, eventually tying the game at 40 with 14:54 to play in the game following a buck from Jeremy Lightfoot in the paint. The Panthers took control again, however, regaining a four-point lead.

Xavier Alexander tied the game up once again for the Storm, knocking down to free throws on one possession and scoring a fast break bucket a few possessions later. With the game knotted at 44 with 12:46 remaining, the Panthers refused to let SNU take the lead, going back up by five before SNU would respond. Again, it was Alexander who got to the hole for the Storm, driving down the lane and hitting a jumper on the run to cut the Davenport lead to three, making the score 49-46 with 11:54 to play.

Like so many times before, the Panthers widened the gap one again, going on a 7-0 run to take their first double digit lead of the second half. With 7:44 to play in the game, Crimson Storm head coach, Adam Bohac, called a timeout to regroup his team who was now trailing 46-58. SNU finally got on the board again after the break with two free throws from Adrian Hunter. But the Panthers continued to use speed to their advantage pushing the ball up the floor and turning nearly every missed shot and Storm turnover into a fast break. With six minutes remaining, SNU trailed 50-63 and Davenport continued to pull further and further away. The Storm didn’t let up, battling for buckets on the offensive end and attempting to hold their ground defensively, but for every bucket the Panthers had an answer, and with less than four minutes to play, Davenport led 71-55.

SNU applied a high pressure defense in an attempt to claw their way back into the gave late, and the Panthers committed an offensive foul right away, putting the ball back in the hands of the Storm offense. Alexander knocked down a shot from behind the arc, making the score 58-71 with 2:54 remaining in the game.

The Storm continued to battle, forcing several Panther turnovers, and capitalizing on their opportunities by putting the ball in the bucket from the field, and from the free throw line late in the game.

SNU narrowed the gap four with 17 seconds remaining in the game with a long three from AJ Thomas, but the run started too late and Davenport picked up a 74-69 win over the Storm.

Xavier Alexander led the way for the Storm, finishing with 25 points. Thomas added 15 for SNU, and Jeremy Lightfoot finished the night with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The Storm shot a mere 40% from the field (24-of-60), 20% from behind the arc (5-of-24), and 57% from the free throw line (16-of-27). The Panthers shot 50% from the field, 13% from three point range, and 72% from the charity stripe.

(Bethany, Okla.)---The Bethel College Threshers came to town this evening to play our very own Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm. SNU triumphed in a 89-50 win that moved them to 3-0 on the season.

Box Score

The Crimson Storm started the game off right, with Xavier Alexander completing a three-point play. He was joined on the board by A.J. Thomas only a moment later. The Bethel visitors had failed to score in the first few minutes, but responded eventually, narrowing SNU’s slowly growing lead to 5-4, then 7-5 before the Storm found their stride. And stride they did, ahead to a 14-5 lead in the space of a single minute. After a remarkably slow start, SNU scored as many points in the sixth minute of the game than they had thus far. That being said, the Storm’s offense cooled immediately after their short run and, in the next five minutes, only scored occasionally.

Runs appeared to be the way scoring was to proceed, with lengthy lulls in between each. About the 10-minute mark the Storm went on another run, with Kyle Boen and Thomas hitting threes from outside, Jeremy Lightfoot and Shane Callaghan battling inside, and Alexander excelling everywhere in between. After another of these runs, with 3:40 remaining in the half, SNU was up 40-18. Slow but solid play over these last four minutes boosted the score to 48-28 before the Storm headed to the locker room for the break.

The second half started off slowly for both teams, but much more slowly for the Bethel Threshers. In eight minutes, while the Crimson Storm had only scored 9, the Threshers had only 5 points to show for their efforts. The game did not seem to have escalated physically, but both teams spent a much greater amount of time at the foul line than they had in the first half.

Momentum was never much of an issue in the second half. The Storm remained on top of the game throughout. So routine did the play seem, that it came as something of a shock when, with 7:15 left in the game, SNU went up by 40 points, 75-35.

The last 7 minutes of the passed smoothly, with strong play off the bench from Bradley Toone, Shawn Seymour, and Robert Brewer, all freshmen. The Storm threatened a 50 point lead a couple of times, but ended up winning 89-50, a 39 point margin.

Xavier Alexander led the Crimson Storm in scoring this evening with 18 points, closely followed by Vladimir Bulut who had 14. Jeremy Lightfoot led on defense with 2 blocks. Tonight’s win moves SNU to 3-0 on the season.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm men's basketball classic is underway from the Sawyer Center with game one in the books.  Davenport University of Michigan defeated Dallas Christian in the first game of the day, 95-64.  Southern Nazarene's women's basketball team follows next against Southwestern Chrsitian and the SNU men's basketball team is up at 8:00 p.m., hosting Bethel College of Kansas.

Day One Results

Davenport, Mich. def. Dallas Christian, 95-64, Box Score

(BETHANY, Okla.)---SNU is 2-0 on the year with three straight home games on the slate. The Crimson Storm did suffer a loss at the University of Tulsa on Monday night, 82-47, in an exhibition game, but the loss does not count against the regular season record, nor do the stats count towards individual averages.

While the loss to TU was a tough one, it should give the Crimson Storm plenty to build on for the remainder of the season.

SNU struggled at times the last time we saw the Storm on Homecoming. The Crimson Storm did manage a 73-58 win over Kansas Wesleyan, but struggled at times before pulling away late in the game.

SNU has been led thus far by Xavier Alexander, who is pumping in an average of 28.5 points per game. A.J. Thomas follows with a 14.5 points per game averaged and Kyle Boen is next up, scoring 13.0 points per game.

SNU’s opponent tonight, Bethel College, is 0-1 on the year after a 66-51 loss to Hastings College in their season opener on Wednesday night.

In that game, the Threshers were led by Justin Schneider and Brody Grove’s ten points apiece. Bethel struggled, shooting only 33% from the floor for the game.

All-time, SNU leads this series 3-1. The two teams last met back in the 2004-05 season in North Newton, Kansas. SNU won that game 70-62.

This weekend, SNU will also welcome Davenport College of Michigan and Dallas Christian College for other half of the SNU Classic.

To view a statistical comparison of the two teams, click here...

SNU vs. Bethel

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Game Day Program

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Live Audio

(TULSA, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm men’s basketball lost to the University of Tulsa on Monday night in Tulsa in an exhibition game, 82-47. The game will not count towards the season record, nor will any of the stats count for the year.

After an introduction that would have been at home in the Ford Center, the teams approached the center of the court. The Golden Hurricane 7 foot center All-American Candidate center Jerome Jordan tipped the ball out for his team.

The first Tulsa possession amounted to little, as the ball was almost immediately thrown out of bounds. The Storm’s first trip down the floor amounted to little as well, and missed shots for both teams left the game scoreless for the first few possessions.

SNU gained a place on the board first, as Xavier Alexander drove to the hole and laid the ball in. The Tulsa squad responded with alacrity, however, going up 7-2 over their next few trips down the floor. The Storm narrowed the margin slightly when Kyle Boen hit his first shot of the night for three points. SNU would not score again before the first scheduled time out where the teams went to the bench with the score 9-5.

Coming out of the break, the Golden Hurricane offense turned it on. And a scarce two minutes had passed before Tulsa had moved up 17-7. The Hurricane superior size presented the largest obstacle for the SNU players, as they were outclassed in size in every position, but gained no advantage in speed or quickness. Nevertheless, by the next scheduled break, the Storm had managed to cut the lead to 8 points, while the Tulsa squad went scoreless.

The flurry of Tulsa’s first few minutes slowed, but did not stop as the game reached the half-way point of the first half. Despite passionate, strong play by the Storm, the Hurricane moved up to 24-10 with 9 minutes still on the clock. A resurgence of SNU scoring came with good efforts from Alexander and Marchello Vealy, cutting the Tulsa lead to 10 points.

Momentarily frustrated beneath the basket by the SNU play, the Hurricane’s simply moved outside, shooting over the undersized SNU guards. With 5:37 remaining in the half, the score had reached 32-17.

The game progressed in this manner, with the Storm striving admirably against an opponent that was simply bigger and stronger. Only Alexander seemed capable of matching up in size with his defender, and he took a noticeable portion of the SNU offensive effort on his shoulders.

However, it was Vealy and Jeremy Lightfoot, with 7 points each who led the Storm in scoring as the teams went to the locker room at the half. The score at half time was 42-25.

The beginning of the second half saw the Hurricane immediately move down the court and score. SNU responded when Alexander went to the free-throw line after being fouled by Tulsa’s Jordan. Some of the first spirit of the night from the Tulsa student’s section sprang to life as Vladimir Bulut went to the line himself on the next SNU possession. He sank them both.

The Storm were on a streak, as three points from foul shots, plus a three from SNU point guard A.J. Thomas narrowed the score to 44-31. The high level of SNU play continued as Lightfoot soared into the air on the defensive end of the court to deny Jordan a dunk. The Storm continued to chip away at the Hurricane lead, reaching 46-34, the closest they’d been since early in the first half.

The Golden Hurricane reasserted their dominance quickly, however, and by the next scheduled timeout had moved ahead 57-36. The Storm played hard, very hard, but the Golden Hurricane size could not be overcome. Lightfoot, who had spent all game battling hard underneath the basket against an All-American candidate that had 3 inches on him, fouled out with 8:28 left in the game.

The Crimson Storm, tired from contending with opponents much larger than them, began to tire, and as they tired, they began to fall further and further behind. With 2:26 remaining the score sat at 78-39. Some light-heartedness remained in the exhausted SNU: As Vealy walked towards the bench after fouling out, the Golden Hurricane fans began the well-known chant of “left, right, left, right” corresponding to Vealy’s steps. As you all know, this chant culminates in a shouted “sit down!” once the player reaches the bench and sits. Vealy endured the jeers of the Tulsa fans as he reached the bench and as he bent to sit, the Golden Hurricane fans yelled as one “sit down!” But Vealy was not sitting. Straightening from his crouch quickly, he stood shaking his finger at the surprised, but amused fans. A good laugh circled the arena, and Vealy took his place with a smile.

Tulsa went on to win 82-47 in the exhibition game.

Marchello Vealy led with 9 points, for the Crimson Storm, followed closely by Kyle Boen who had 8. Vealy was also joined by Xavier Alexander as the blocks leader, each with 5.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---Sawyer is never so full for a basketball game than it is on Homecoming Weekend. The Crimson Storm welcomed the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University to the Sawyer Center this Friday night, winning the physical game 73-58 to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Box Score

The game started with empty efforts for both teams before Xavier Alexander put SNU on the board with an athletic one-on-one move down low. The Coyotes responded by sinking three as the shot clock expired. That shot was to give them their only points till eight minutes of the game had passed as the Crimson Storm stepped up their defense to a smothering swarm. SNU’s Kyle Boen responded in kind, and the Storm was off to the races, quickly putting up a double-digit lead on KWU. The energy in the gym was palpable, as a very full student section served up a healthy portion of chants and just plain noise. SNU surged ahead to a 14-3 lead.

The feverish pace of the first five minutes cooled, and with it, SNU’s offense. The game settled into a physical grind with each team working from a half-court set, no longer pushing the ball up the floor. This new rate of play did not suit the Storm, and the Coyotes slowly clawed their way back into the game. With 3 minutes left in the first half, SNU found themselves only up, 29-27. A margin which the attacking Coyotes quickly negated, tying it at first at 29, then at 31.

A strong defensive stop, ending in a steal and a fast-break led to the decibel maximum for the evening thus far, as Marchello Vealy threw down the first dunk of the game. However, KWU responded with a 3-pointer with 0:34 seconds left in the half. Finding themselves unable to get a good look at the basket in the remaining time, the Crimson Storm went into the locker-room at half-time down 33-34.

The second half began as the first half ended. KWU hit another three. However, the Storm fought back into it, and on another fast break, this one by Alexander, took the lead with a high-flying dunk. A few minutes later, Vladimir Bulut increased the spread with his first three of the night. More strong play from by the Storm and another dunk from Alexander put SNU up 47-37.

The teams battled back and forth, with SNU remaining ever on top. The physicality escalated, and threatened to spill over as little pushes turned, momentarily, into a confrontation under the goal in front of the SNU student section.

The grind of the first half returned, and the Coyotes again began to eat into the SNU lead. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, the Storm was only up 4 points. However, a loss during Homecoming was not going to happen, and the Storm began to turn it on again, with a big three by Boen and two big shots in the paint by Alexander.

The redoubled effort began to pay off, as SNU pulled away to another 10-point lead. As the game entered its final minute, the Coyotes began to put a full-court press on the Storm. It was too little, too late, as the Storm continued to pull away, aided by several trips to the foul line, and ended the game up 73-58.

Offensively, the team was led by Xavier Alexander who had 29 on the night, shooting 11 of 15 from the floor. Also breaking double digits in points, A.J. Thomas put 18 on the board. Vladimir Bulut and Xavier Alexander had 8 and 9 rebounds respectively.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm got off to a strong start on Tuesday night in their season opener, crushing cross-town Bethany school, Southwestern Christian, 109-64 in the Sawyer Center.

Storm fans got a sneak peek at what could be a very good year for SNU basketball on Tuesday evening. Despite having four players who will see significant minutes this year in street clothes, SNU had little trouble dispatching the Eagles.

Much hyped newcomer, Xavier Alexander, did not disappoint in his SNU debut, pumping in 28 points on a blistering 71% shooting night (12-of-17). Alexander was 3-of-4 from three. Junior Kyle Boen also scored the nets for SNU on Tuesday, lighting up the Eagles defense with six three’s on the night. Boen hit 6-of-7 from beyond the arc on his way to a career high 20-point night.

Jeremy Lightfoot followed with 13 points and A.J. Thomas added 11.

Tonight, SNU will welcome Kansas Wesleyan to the Sawyer Center for Homecoming.

KWU is 1-1 on the year after downing Peru State of Nebraska in their season opener, 76-71. The Coyotes lost to York College of Nebraska on Halloween night, 80-72.

All-time, SNU and Kansas Wesleyan have met four times, with SNU holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The Storm and Coyotes met last year here in the Sawyer Center with SNU winning 80-64.

To view a statistical comparison of the two teams, click here...

SNU vs. KWU

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Game Day Program

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Live Broadcast

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Live Stats

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm men’s basketball team opened up the 2009-10 season with a 109-64 rout of fellow Bethany college, Southwestern Christian University, on Tuesday night in the Sawyer Center. SNU improves to 1-0 on the year with the win.

Box Score

Tuesday nights season opener was never in doubt for the Storm as SNU cruised to a 54-38 halftime lead thanks to 55% shooting from the floor in the first half and 7-of-14 shooting from three. Despite not having four players who will either start or see significant action this year in the lineup, SNU had little trouble with the Eagles.

In the second half, SNU continued to pull away, out-scoring SCU 55-26 on a blistering 62% shooting performance from the floor.

Individually, SNU was led by Xavier Alexander’s 28 points. Alexander was 12-of-17 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three. Kyle Boen followed with 20 points on the night, hitting lights out from three, connecting on 6-of-7 from downtown. Boen only missed two shots on the night, finishing 6-of-8 from the floor. Jeremy Lightfoot followed with 13 points and 7 rebounds while A.J. Thomas added 11 points and 7 assists.

SNU will be in action again on Friday night against Kansas Wesleyan on Homecoming. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. from the Sawyer Center.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---A new season of Crimson Storm men’s basketball is upon us as SNU opens the 2009-10 campaign tonight. Second year head coach, Adam Bohac, had a very successful debut last year, leading the Storm to a 20-12 record and a respectable 6th place finish in the 12-team Sooner Athletic Conference.

Expectations have risen for the ‘09-’10 season as Southern Nazarene is picked 4th in the pre-season Sooner Athletic Conference Coaches Poll released a couple of weeks ago. SNU is also receiving 20 votes in the pre-season NAIA rankings.

Much of the expectation comes from the highly anticipated debut of a strong recruiting class by Bohac and his staff. SNU added George Washington University transfer, Xavier Alexander, along with Walters State transfer, A.J. Thomas, Holmes C.C. transfer, Jeremy Lightfoot, and Oral Roberts transfer Marchello Vealy. These four, along with a host of other new recruits make SNU an intriguing team as the season starts up tonight.

The Crimson Storm also has a wealth of talent returning from their 20-win season a year ago. The Storm’s second leading scorer, Deonta Black, is back after averaging 11.0 points per game. SNU also returns Vlad Bulut (7.4 ppg), Daniel White (8.5 ppg), and starters Clement N’Gom, Shane Callaghan and Jon West.

It should be a fun one tonight as the Storm host fellow Bethany college, Southwestern Christian, to the Sawyer Center. SNU and SCU have met twice with the Storm winning both meetings. Their last meeting was in 2004-05, a game SNU won 112-46.

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Game Day Program

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Live Broadcast

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm men’s basketball team is picked to finish 4th in the pre-season Sooner Athletic Conference Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. SNU received 83 total points in the poll.

Oklahoma Baptist is picked to finish first in the poll, receiving 120 points with ten first place votes. Rogers State, the 2008-09 regular season champion, is picked second with 106 total votes. Oklahoma Christian is picked third with 99 votes and two first place votes.

SNU finished 12-10 in Sooner Athletic Conference play a year ago, finishing 6th in the SAC final standings in the 12-team league. SNU posted a 20-12 record under first year head coach Adam Bohac.

To view the complete coaches poll, click here…
2009-10 SAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll

The Adam Bohac era got off to a good start in 2008-09 as SNU posted the program’s 23rd and third straight 20-win season. SNU finished off the 08-09 season with a 20-12 mark and a 6th place finish (12-10) in the brutal Sooner Athletic Conference.

SNU has plenty of optimism heading into the 2009-10 season, as the Crimson Storm will look to repeat their 20-win season and attempt to compete for a conference crown and return to the NAIA National Tournament.

First off though, the bad news for SNU is the Crimson Storm graduated do-everything point guard, Brandon Durham. Durham finished his illustrious career as the program’s 16th all-time leading scorer with 1,370 points and left SNU as the schools all-time steals leader with 292 career swipes.

The good news is that SNU looks to have replaced Durham with a host of talented recruits.

Guard
The guard position will see the return of 6’3 sophomore Daniel White, 6’4 junior Clement N’Gom, and 6’2 junior Kyle Boen.

White had a solid freshman campaign, appearing in all of SNU’s 32 games and averaging 8.5 points per contest. White was SNU’s third leading scorer a year ago and added 4.8 rebounds per game as a guard, which was second best on the team.

N’Gom arrived late to campus last fall, but was solid in his first year at SNU, starting 19 games and averaging 4.5 points per game.

Boen appeared in 30 games for SNU a year ago and connected on 32% of his three-point attempts, averaging 3.2 points per game.

6’6 junior Xavier Alexander and 6’0 junior A.J. Thomas will highlight the newcomers at the guard position.

Alexander is a transfer from George Washington University where he averaged 21 minutes a game last year, scoring 3.5 points per game. Alexander is local high school legend from Midwest City High School, where he scored 23.0 points per game as a senior, earning First Team All-State honors and leading Midwest City to the Class 6A State Championship and a 27-1 record as a senior.

Thomas is a transfer from Walters State Junior College, where was a Freshman Third Team All-American and earned Player of the Year honors for the TJCCAA conference.

SNU will also look to Central Michigan transfer, Adrian Hunter, to have an immediate impact. Hunter averaged 3.2 points per game last year for the Chippewa’s, hitting 36% from three.

The Storm will also rely on freshmen Robert Brewer, Shawn Seymour, Bradley Toone, and sophomore Malcolm McCarty for added depth at the guard position. All four had outstanding high school careers.

Forward
Returnees Vladimir Bulut and Jon West will man the forward position. Bulut, a 6’7 senior, appeared in 31 games last year, scoring 7.4 points per game and hitting a team high 43.5% from three (57-of-131).

West, a 6’6 sophomore started 12 games a year ago and averaged 5.1 points per game with 3.5 rebounds per contest as a freshman.

SNU has also added Oral Roberts University transfer, Marchello Vealy, to the mix on the front line. Vealy appeared in 27 games last year for ORU, averaging 4.6 points per game. As a sophomore, Marchello averaged 8.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and earned the Mid-Continent Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The Crimson Storm will also look to 6’4 freshman, Brett Frantz, for depth at the forward spot. Frantz had an outstanding career at Balko High School in Oklahoma.

Center
The post position will return two players from a year ago, second leading scorer, Deonta Black, and sophomore starter, Shane Callaghan.

Black scored 11.0 points per game a year ago and grabbed a team high 5.0 rebounds per game. For his efforts, Deonta earned Honorable Mention All-SAC honors.

Callaghan, a 6’8 sophomore, had a solid freshman year, starting 22 of 32 games, scoring 5.0 points per game and grabbing 3.7 rebounds per contest.

SNU will also add Holmes Community College transfer, Jeremy Lightfoot, to the post position. Lightfoot, a 6’9 junior, averaged 14.3 points per game and had 7.5 rebounds per game last year for Holmes and earned First Team All-State honors and was the Region XXIII Offensive Player of the Year.

Wrap-Up
Nothing is ever for sure until the season officially tips off, but on paper, Southern Nazarene looks to have loaded up on talent in the off-season under second year head coach, Adam Bohac. After posting an impressive 20-win campaign in his first year at the helm last season, Bohac is looking to guide SNU to the next level in 09-10, and if things play out on the court like they look on paper, SNU should be highly competitive in the SAC this season.

To view the 2009-10 men's basketball media guide, click here...

2009-10 Media Guide

(KANSAS CITY, MO.)---Southern Nazarene University senior guard, Brandon Durham, was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the NAIA on Tuesday evening.  Durham, a 6'0 senior from Oklahoma City, was a Third Team All-American as a junior.

(Bethany, Okla.)---The Southern Nazarene University women’s basketball team matched up against the Trevecca Nazarene University Trojans this afternoon. The fast-paced, down-to-the-wire game ended disappointingly for the Crimson Storm, as they lost 67-70. This loss moves them to 6 and 2 on the season.

Box Score

The Crimson Storm started the game off right with a three pointer from Lana Keith. On the other end of the court, Keith stole the ball, tipped it back in to Marsha Durr to save it from going out of bounds, who then fed the ball right back to the streaking Keith who banked it in. The Storm continued to fire on all cylinders, with Logan Martin hitting her first attempt of the game for 3 points, and Keith slashing to the hole for two more.

On the very next SNU possession, it was again Keith who drove hard to the bucket, the hard contact from her Trevecca defender was called intentional, sending Keith to the line for two and returning the ball to SNU after. Only 3 minutes into the game, Keith had already scored 10 points, shooting 100% from both the floor and the foul line. Like a well-oiled machine, SNU continued to push the ball up the floor with a pace that the Trojans found difficult to adjust to. However, TNU was not impotent on offense themselves, after 7 minutes of the game had been played, the Storm led only narrowly, 19-14.

The furious pace of the first several minutes slowed somewhat as the half neared its halfway point, and SNU’s offense slowed with it. A 4-minute dry spell for the Storm found the Storm leading 23-22 with 6:30 left in the first half. In the seconds following the Trojan defense jumped in front of a pass and took a momentary lead on the following bucket. Jacque Farrar, however, quickly amended the situation, hitting her first shot of the game for 3 points putting SNU back up 26-25. As the game approached the 3 minute mark TNU once again tied it up, this time at 28-28, and then proceeded to go up 28-30.

Abbey Marra, on her first shot of the evening evened it at 30-30 before the Trojans went back up on a 3-pointer. A foul shot made a moment later put them up 30-34. Sharmeda Johnson, working down low, put up 2 points for the Storm just before the half expired and the teams went to the locker room with the scoreboard showing 32-34.

After a disappointing last ten minutes of the first half, the Crimson Storm came out for the second half hoping to recapture the pace and consistency of early in the game. However, a quick return to scoring from the Trojans and continued cold shooting from SNU found the Crimson Storm down 34-43 with 16:00 left in the game. Minutes later, with the Trojan lead expanded to 10, Johnson found Keith on the left wing. Keith’s 3-pointer, and a two layups a bit later in the game, were the only SNU points in the 2nd five minutes of the half. As the clock showed 10:00, the Crimson Storm trailed 45-54.

The following three minutes of the game saw good shots from Keith and Martin, but the Trojans kept pace, and maintained their lead. With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Storm began to claw back, so that when the clock read 6:00, they were only down 6 points. Two good foul shots from Marra narrowed the gap to 4 and returned the spring to the player’s steps and the noise to the home stands.

However, the Trevecca Trojans refused to loosen their grip on the game. Down by 7 as the last minute of the game began, the Storm fought back within 3 as solid defense on the TNU inbound passes resulted in two steals and two buckets. However, as SNU brought the ball down the court from a missed Trevecca shot the pass to the basket was bobbled, pounced on by a Trojan player who rolled over, holding the ball. Ignoring the traveling call, the referee called a jump ball as Martin sought to regain the ball. The possession arrow pointed towards TNU, who proceeded to inbound the ball. This inbounds was actually stolen, but the last second shot missed hard off the backboard and the Crimson Storm fell 67-70.

Lana Keith led the team in scoring, with 26 points, shooting 3 for 8 from 3-point range. Sharmeda Johnson shared the lead in rebounds with Keith; both had 7. This afternoon’s loss put the SNU record at 6-2.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm women's basketball team held off MidAmerica Nazarene on Friday night in the Sawyer Center, 70-60, to improve to 6-1 on the year.

Box Score

Lana Keith scored the first points of the game, driving hard to her right and swishing a floater from about 8 feet. The Pioneers responded immediately with a three pointer on the other end. Logan Martin joined her teammate shortly thereafter to get the SNU’s offense rolling. Four minutes into the game, Martin stole a lazy pass and took it all the way to the other end, taking the hard contact and putting the Crimson Storm up 6-3.

MNU countered without hesitation, hitting another three-pointer to even the game at 6-6. The game proceeded in furious fashion with both teams pushing the ball hard up the floor, trading baskets back and forth. MNU’s first time out after 5 minutes of play ended with Abbey Marra entering the game for the Storm. Her presence was felt immediately as she quickly put up 4 points on her first two attempts of the evening.

Jacque Farrar had also come in for SNU, and with 12:15 left in the half, hit her first shot of the evening for 3 points. Her shot put SNU up 18-10. It was during this period of strong play off the bench that SNU spread their lead over the Pioneers. The Storm’s lead fluctuated as the half continued, reaching as much as 13, but never falling below 8.

Physical play down low, quick, flashing play on the perimeter, and a strong presence in the midrange by usual-perimeter player Jamie Bottger characterized the first half for SNU. The Storm’s sharp defense throughout the first twenty minutes is really what separated the two teams, as each steal, block, or ball thrown away prevented MNU from scoring, and often led to points for SNU on the other end of the court. Without these turnovers, the score would have been much closer than the 36-24 that showed as the half expired.

The start of the second half saw Keith hit yet another three pointer, her second of the evening. The Pioneers fired back with their own three pointer. An exchange of points in the first few minutes quickly boosted the score to 45-31 This comfortable lead, the Storm’s largest yet, would not last. The Pioneers began to claw back, slowly gaining until, with 9:23 showing after a string of SNU turnovers, they cut the lead back down under 10, first to 9, and then to 7 before a 3-pointer by Farrar opened the score back up to 55-45.

The attacking MNU squad was tenacious, however, and three minutes later the margin of SNU’s lead was only 5 points. Only moments later, after a brief surge from the Storm, the Pioneers were once again threatening, only down by 4 points. With the shot clock running down, Bottger drove to the hole, taking the foul and banking in the layup as the buzzer sounded. As if this was the last breath before the plunge, the Storm surged back ahead, breaking MNU’s full-court press every time down the court, and scoring consistently.

Big shots from Keith, Bottger, and Marra propelled SNU back into 10 point lead, which they maintained till the buzzer sounded and the scoreboard showed 70-60, SNU victorious.

Lana Keith and Logan Martin lead the team in scoring, with 16 and 15 points respectively. Abbey Marra led off the bench with 8 points of her own, and 6 rebounds, a number she shared with Martin. Tonight’s win moved the Storm to 6-1 on the season.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The 15th-ranked Crimson Storm women’s basketball team improved to 5-1 on the year with a hard fought victory over Langston University on Tuesday night. SNU saw a comfortable 14-point halftime lead erased, but held on for the 80-77 victory.

Box Score

In the first half, it was all SNU as the Crimson Storm held a commanding lead throughout the duration of the first half of play. SNU shot an impressive 55% from the floor, while Langston struggled offensively, connecting on only 24% of their first half shots. SNU led at halftime 41-27.

Early in the second half, SNU increased their advantage to as many 16 points before LU began to chip away down the stretch. The Lions took their first lead at the 2:44 mark, grabbing a 75-74 lead.

SNU quickly tied and took the lead on two made free throws from Marsha Durr. Langston went back ahead on a Stephanie Madden bucket with 2:08 to play, putting the Lady Lions up 77-76.

It took SNU one minute to answer only their second deficit of the night, but with 1:18 to play, Logan Martin hit a jumper to put SNU back up 78-77. Martin’s bucket would prove to be the game winner.

LU had an opportunity at a three with :56 seconds to play, but Sanetra Jackson’s three did not fall. SNU turned the ball over on their next possession, giving Langston yet another shot with :11 seconds left. Ashley Gray picked up a steal for LU and was fouled, but missed the front end of the one-and-one. Lana Keith was then fouled on the rebound and Keith delivered two key free throws to put SNU up 80-77 with :09 seconds to play.

Langston had a three with two seconds to play to try and tie, but the three missed, sealing the SNU win, 80-77.

Individually, SNU was led by Lana Keith’s 14 points. Logan Martin added 13, Ashley Mantooth and Jamie Bottger finished with eleven and Abbey Marra put in ten points. Bottger had a double-double, adding ten rebounds to her eleven points.

Langston was led by Stephanie Madden’s double-double of 30 points and 14 rebounds. Shonderlette Paul added 12 points and Sanetra Jackson finished with ten.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Southern Nazarene University Women’s Basketball team welcomed the Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles to the Sawyer Center this evening, beating them 94-46 to move to 4-1 on the season.

Box Score

Winning the tip, the Crimson Storm immediately took it down the floor and, after working it around the perimeter, kicked it inside to Ashley Mantooth who put up the first points of the night. Less than a minute later, Logan Martin found Lana Keith open on the right wing, from whence she buried her first three of the night. The Lady Eagles were not going to be easily beaten.

After falling behind 5-0, they rebounded quickly and were not more than 4 points behind the Storm for the next few minutes. That margin was widened before too long by Keith’s second three of the night, putting the game at 15-8. The game progressed in this fashion for several minutes. SCU would hold score regularly, but not necessarily often, while SNU steadily pulled away.

Down by as much as 12 at the ten-minute mark, the Lady Eagles had fought back within 6 with eight minutes left. The Crimson Storm did not allow that to last, however, and proceeded to widen the margin once again, led by Jamie Bottger and Oumoul Thiam who had several scoring efforts running the floor and outpacing the SCU defenders.

With three minutes remaining in the half the score sat at 37-25. It was here that the Lady Eagles defense stiffened, and began to challenge the Storm both down low and around the perimeter. Undeterred, SNU patiently worked the ball around on offense, and refused to allow any but the most earned of points. Thus when the buzzer sounded for halftime the score had not changed over-much, with the Storm up 43-31. Bottger led the team at halftime with 10 points, shooting 5-8 from the floor.

The start of the second half saw two quick fouls, one on each end of the floor. The first resulted in a single point for the Lady Eagles, and the second led to two successful foul shots for the Crimson Storm. The first five minutes of the second half were filled with the SNU squad widening their lead to twenty points, battling against an increasingly physical SCU defense. This was evidenced by the noticeably increased frequency with which the referees employed their whistles. The points gained thus from the line and points won on fast breaks were influential in the gaining of this gap.

Five minutes after they had reached the 20-point lead mark, they reached 30. This was achieved almost exclusively by Jacque Farrar, who hit five straight three pointers on five straight possessions, bringing the crowd to their feet.

As if any more were needed, Katie Novak followed quickly after Farrar’s feat, hitting her first three of the night and putting SNU within sight of a 40-point lead. A few foul shots from Mantooth and a strong put-back by Sharmeda Johnson gained the Storm that lead, with the score 79-39. The last ten minutes of the game appeared to move quite slowly, after the furious scoring of Farrar’s run. The Crimson Storm continued to pull away from the Lady Eagles, ending with a 48-point lead. The final score: 94-46.

The Crimson Storm was led in scoring by Ashley Mantooth's 16 points.  Farrar and Keith finished with 15 and Bottger added eleven. 

(BETHANY, Okla.)---After three blowout wins to start the season, SNU suffered their first loss of the season on Monday night at Evangel University to fall to 3-1 on the year. The Lady Crusaders, who are ranked 24th in the pre-season NAIA poll, held a 12-point halftime advantage and held on to win by nine over the higher ranked Storm.

Most of SNU’s problems were foul related as the Storm was whistled for 27 fouls, leading to 31 free throws shots for Evangel. SNU wasn’t as fortunate, making only 17 trips to the line, hitting 14. SNU also struggled from three, hitting only 4-of-12 after entering the game knocking down 50% of their shots from three.

Tonight, SNU looks to get back on track against fellow Bethany school, Southwestern Christian. SCU is 0-1 on the year after an 82-54 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God University in their season opener.

SNU and Southwestern Christian have met only one time previous, back in the 2005-06 season. In that game, SNU cruised to a 71-49 victory.

After tonight, SNU will be at home for four-straight games that include Langston, who is receiving votes in the pre-season NAIA poll, along with Nazarene rivals MidAmerica and #13 Trevecca next weekend. SNU will then open up SAC play with John Brown on December 3rd.

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Game Day Program

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Live Audio

(PT. LOOKOUT, Mo.)---The 15th-ranked Crimson Storm women’s basketball team was upset by 24th-ranked Evangel on Monday night in Missouri, falling by a score of 77-68. The loss drops SNU to 3-1 on the year.

Box Score

SNU trailed by 12 at halftime, 42-30, and were down by as many as 16 at one point in the second half before rallying to cut the final deficit to nine points. Individually, SNU was led by Lana Keith’s 24 points. Audra Skimbo followed with ten and Logan Martin added nine points.

SNU did manage to out-rebound the Crusaders 38-35, but Evangel got the Storm at the free throw line, shooting 31 to SNU’s 17. SNU hit 44% from the floor, 33% from three and 82% from the line.

SNU will be back in action on Friday night at home against Southwestern Christian at 6:00 p.m. in the Sawyer Center.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm women’s basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with another huge victory, downing Huston-Tillotson University 106-47 on Friday night during the Homecoming festivities. SNU controlled the game, and pulled away in the second half after being plagued by turnovers in the first half.

Box Score

SNU took the lead on tip off, with a 15-foot jumper from Lana Keith, and continue to widen the margin, with two free throws from Keith and a coast-to-coast lay-up from Logan Martin. The Storm went ahead 9-0 with a trey from Martin, but the Lady Rams got on the board for the first time with two free throws. SNU continued to build on the lead, going ahead 17-4 with 13:08 remaining in the half with a lay-up from Abbey Marra.

The Lady Rams attempted to narrow the margin, applying full court pressure that forced several Storm turnovers, but SNU regrouped and began putting points on the board again. Leading 23-12, the Storm continued to struggle to make the most of their possessions. Keith gave SNU six quick points, however, draining back-to-back three’s with under six minutes to play in the half.

With time in the first half winding down, Marra knocked down two jumpers, and SNU took a commanding 35-16 lead with 3:44 to play. Audra Skimbo came off the bench and gave the Storm back-to-back buckets in the paint to increase SNU’s lead even more. Also coming off the bench and giving the Storm a spark was Lauren Langston, who drained a shot from behind the arc with just over a minute to play, and tacked on one-of-two from the free throw line to give SNU a 43-19 lead with :59 remaining. Keith closed off the half from the Storm with an easy lay-up on and in bounds play, and SNU led 45-13 at the break.

The Storm came out hitting in the second half, with Keith giving SNU their first points of the half with her third trey ball of the evening. Tacking of 11 more points after Keith’s three-pointer, SNU took a 59-24 lead with 15:48 to play in the game. Ashley Mantooth hit the boards hard from SNU to give them several second chances and finishing three put backs of her own.

The Storm continued to widen the gap, going up 70-27 with 12:32 remaining in the game. The 11-to-3 SNU run saw several different players get in the books, with buckets coming from Martin, Mantooth, Marra, Jamie Botteger, and Jacque Farrar.

Continuing to control the game, SNU pulled further and further away, scoring on nearly every possession midway through the half. Abbey Marra was at the forefront of the Storm dominance, scoring six points during the run. With 9:26 remaining in the game, SNU led 82-33, maintaining complete control of the second half.

Katie Novack came in off the bench for the Storm and scored back to back buckets, draining her first shot of the night, a jumper from behind the arc, to get in the books for the first time. Marsha Durr and Audra Skimbo added three-pointers as well, and SNU led by 57 points with 4:33 to play in the game, 95038.

With under three minutes to play, the Storm broke 100 with a jumper from Skimbo that widened the lead to 61, and made the score 101-42. Time ticked, and two of the Lady Rams six players fouled out, leaving them with just four players on the court for the last few minutes of the game as SNU iced the game away, winning 106-47.

For the game, SNU shot 56% from the field (41-of-73), 43% from behind the arc (10-23), and 74% from the charity stripe (14-19). The Storm also dominated the boards, pulling down 64 rebounds to Huston-Tillotson’s 20.

Lana Keith finished the game as SNU’s leading scorer with 18 points. Keith was 6-8 from the field, 4-of-5 from behind the arc, and 2-2 from the free throw line. Logan Martin added a double-double of 15 points and 11 assists for SNU, and Abbey Marra finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Both Ashley Mantooth and Audra Skimbo finished in double digits as well, adding 13 a piece for SNU.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm destroyed Dallas Christian the last time we saw SNU last Saturday. The Crimson Storm had a record-breaking performance against the Crusaders, walloping DCC 123-25. In the win, SNU set a variety of new records; including most three’s in a game with 21. The Storm’s 21 three’s against Dallas Christian is also a new Sooner Athletic Conference record. SNU also set a new school mark for biggest winning margin, winning by 98 points. The previous record was 92 points.

SNU’s three-point shooting has definitely been the story early on as SNU is hitting a whopping 50% of their three-point attempts. The Storm have connected on 31-of-62 from beyond the arc, led by senior Lana Keith’s 64% from three. Keith, who tied a school record last year with 79 three’s, is 9-for-14 from beyond the arc in two games. But, while Keith is SNU’s main gun, the Storm has definitely spread the wealth as eight players have connected on a three-pointer this year.

Tonight, SNU welcomes Huston-Tillotson to the Sawyer Center on Homecoming. HTC will be playing their first game of the year tonight.

SNU and Huston-Tillotson have met once with the Crimson Storm winning their only meeting back in 2007, 103-64.

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SNU vs. HTC

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Game Day Program

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Live Stats

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm women's basketball team blasted Dallas Christian 123-25 in the final game of the SNU Classic on Saturday afternoon in the Sawyer Center.  The win improves SNU to 2-0 on the year.  In the process, SNU set a variety of records, including setting the new SNU and Sooner Athletic Conference three-pointers made in a game with 21.  The previous school mark was 14 and the SAC record was 20.  SNU also set the school record for largest margin of victory, winning by 98 points.  The previous mark was 92. 

Box Score

The sun was shining and the wind was blowing the leaves in the trees, filling the air with rustling this afternoon here in Bethany, Oklahoma, but inside the Sawyer Center the sound of basketballs bouncing and the SNU drum line dominated.

In a near replay from the night before, the Crimson Storm started off at a lightning pace. The first three possessions for Dallas Christian ended in steals by SNU, two of the three resulting in easy layups for the Storm. The Crusader defense would hardly get down the court on defense before they found the slashing and passing SNU offense upon them. After six minutes of the first half had passed the Storm were up 14-2.

Constant pressure on defense did not allow anything but frantic, panicky efforts for Dallas Christian, a drive ended in a blocked shot more often than not, and jump shots were attempted with at least one SNU defender looming large in front of the shooter. Before seven minutes of the half had been played, SNU’s Lauren Langston and Lana Keith had combined for 4 three-pointers, shooting 100% from behind the arc.

As the half progressed, the Storm settled into a grueling pace, pushing the ball hard down the court, often passing lagging Crusader defenders. Logan Martin and Marsha Durr, SNU’s point guards, moved the ball around the perimeter with impunity, sending it inside to the post, played by Abbey Marra, Sharmeda Johnson, and Ashley Mantooth, from which the ball either went in the basket, or back out to the guards. With five minutes remaining in the half, the score was a remarkable 53-7.

The strong play continued, with SNU’s stifling defense allowing only 9 points in the entire first half. The offense, on the other hand, put up 66 points, shooting 63.2% from the floor and making 12 of 18 from three-point range. The score at half time: 66-9.

The second half began as a slightly more subdued version of the first. The pace was just a touch under blistering, and the play underneath the basket was not quite so dominant. But three-pointers still fell like rain. SNU made four three-pointers in the first three minutes, though thereafter they cooled off.

Consistency was the name of the game this afternoon. The Storm remained on top of their game, with exceptional defense, and overwhelming offense. With 3:15 remaining in the game the score was 112-24, and while the Storm had slowed down their play, they were still absolutely dominant. With the second half passing as if a dream, the buzzer at the end of the game came as a bit of a shock, heralding the end with a score of 123-25.

The numbers for this game were absolutely ridiculous: SNU shot 44 for 79 from the floor, and 21-36 from beyond the arc, breaking both the SNU and SAC conference records for three-pointers. They also broke the record for largest winning margin in school history, it was 92, but is now 98. The defense forced 24 turnovers. Lana Keith was again the leading scorer, with 23, shooting 7 for 10 from behind the arc. Katie Novak followed close behind, with 20 points (6 for 8 from three-point range). Katie was also the leading rebounder, with 12.   Other double figure scorers were Oumoul Thiam with 18 points, Jacque Farrar with 13 and Lauren Langston with 12. 

The Crimson Storm will play their next game November 6, at home against Huston-Tillotson.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---Southern Nazarene University opened its women’s basketball season this evening in their first game of the SNU Classic, against Ecclesia College. In an impressive show of their potential for this season, the Crimson Storm smashed the Lady Royals 97-54.

Box Score

The first half began in furious fashion. Ecclesia won the ball off the jump and promptly drew a blocking foul down underneath the basket, scoring on both free-throw attempts. SNU responded immediately, pushing the ball down the floor and kicking it inside to Ashley Mantooth who banked it in from about 5 feet. On the ensuing Ecclesia possession, Mantooth again showed her size, rearing up to block an Ecclesia jumper from the free-throw line.

The game progressed with both teams pressing on defense, forcing mistakes. However, Ecclesia could not keep up with the firing Crimson Storm offense, led by another bucket from Mantooth, and several slashing layups from Logan Martin. The hustle of the first three and half minutes calmed somewhat, as each team began to run a half-court offense, this was interrupted by Martin stealing the ball and taking it all the way down the court for two more. After only four minutes of play the score was 16-6, with SNU leading.

Upon the resumption of play, SNU forced yet another turnover, with Oumoul Thiam stealing the ball and sending it down the court to Lana Keith. The very next Ecclesia possession again saw a steal, this one by Abbey Marra, and a follow up bucket by Logan Martin, who blew by her defender with a quick first step to lay it in.

SNU’s almost frantic-paced offense had already begun to take its toll on their Ecclesia opponents, as Logan Martin pushed the ball up the court, running by defenders struggling to keep their feet from dragging. Martin kicked the ball out to Lauren Langston, who hit the three-pointer to bring the score to 27-10.

The first half was characterized by the alternation of slow and fast paced play. SNU dominated, imposing their will upon the Lady Royals, controlling the pace of the game.
The SNU fast-break offense again showed its effectiveness as the clock read 8:05. From an inbound pass, Marsha Durr passed the entire Ecclesia defense in one well-placed pass to Mantooth, who laid it in. A following three-pointer from Keith put SNU up 38-19.

The last minute of the first half can be seen as a microcosm of the entire game thus far. With a commanding lead, the SNU defense forced the Lady Royals to throw a high floating pass over the middle, which Marra firmly brought down for another turn-over gained for the Storm. As she brought the ball down, Martin called for her teammates to clear from the right side of the court. Feigning a drive, Martin pulled up for a mid-range jumper, which found nothing but the soft, white fibers of the net. The consistently stifling Storm defense did not allow a good look from the Royals on their next possession, and the teams headed to the locker room at half with the score at 48-32.

The first four minutes of the second half much resembled the last four of the first. The Crimson Storm defense imposed their will upon the Royals’ offense, and the SNU offense outscored their opponents 21-8 in the first four minutes, with the score reading 69-40.

The pace in the second half was much slower than what we saw in the first half. Each team walked the ball across half-court, rather than the fast-break style of play from earlier in the game. In fact, halfway through the half, SNU had only scored 6 points in the six minutes following their 21-points in the first four minutes of the half.

SNU controlled the second half, and made it look easy. After the first four minutes, there were no dazzling runs for many points in a short period of time. Rather, the play was slow and deliberate, the defense solid, and the scoring was fruitful. Durr, who ran the point for the majority of the half, would work the ball around the perimeter, moving it in to Marra or Audra Skimbo who would kick it back out to Langston, Jeffries, or Novak who would bury a three. Or the ball would work around the perimeter before being fed into the post players mentioned above, who made short work of their defenders.

“I think we showed great teamwork, especially in the second half” said Marra after the game. In this fashion, SNU calmly built a staggering lead, while refusing to allow points on the defense end of the court. The Storm ended the game up 97-54.

The Crimson Storm was led on offense by Lana Keith, who had 21 points, and Logan Martin, who had 12 assists. Martin finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 assists.  Other players in double figures were Jamie Bottger and Jacque Farrar with 12 points apiece, Ashley Mantooth with 11 and Lauren Langston with 10.  Bottger added a team high eight rebounds.  On defense, Abbey Marra led the way with 3 blocks and also had 7 rebounds.

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The 2009-10 women’s basketball season tips off on Friday night in the Sawyer Center. SNU is coming off a 24-8 record in 2008-09 and a 17-5 finish in the Sooner Athletic Conference. SNU made the program’s 18th trip to nationals a year ago, but lost in round one to Azusa Pacific and are looking for a longer stay in Jackson come March of 2010.

Tonight, SNU will begin their quest for the program’s 8th NAIA National Championship.

SNU has a wealth of talent returning from their 24-win season a year ago. NAIA All-Americans Logan Martin (3rd team) and Lana Keith (3rd team) are back after huge seasons a year ago. Martin earned the SAC’s Freshman of the Year Award after leading SNU in scoring with 15.9 points per game. Keith was a First Team All-SAC member after finishing second on the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game and tying a school record for three’s made with 79.

The reigning SAC Coach of the Year, Lori Carter, will also have returning starter, Ashley Mantooth (7.1 ppg) and fourth leading scorer, Abbey Marra (8.4 ppg) back from a year ago down low.

To read more about SNU’s upcoming season, click here…
SNU Season Preview

Ecclessia will begin only their second year of intercollegiate basketball tonight. The Lady Royals went 12-19 in their inaugural season last year.

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Ecclesia Season Preview

SNU and Ecclesia will be meeting for the first time on Friday. All-time, SNU is 28-7 in season openers, but is 23-0 since the 1986-87 season.

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Game Day Program

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm women's basketball team is ranked #15 in the pre-season NAIA national rankings released on Tuesday.  SNU is coming off the program's 18th trip to the NAIA National Tournament last March.  The Crimson Storm posted a 24-8 record last season under SAC Coach of the Year, Lori Carter.

In the pre-season poll, SNU received 148 votes to come in at #15.  SNU was ranked 14th in the final poll of 2008-09.  Other SAC schools that were ranked include Oklahoma Baptist (#3), Oklahoma City (#8), SNU (#15), and Lubbock Christian (#19).

To view the complete poll, click here...

NAIA Pre-Season Rankings

(BETHANY, Okla.)---The Crimson Storm women’s basketball team is picked to finish 3rd in the pre-season Sooner Athletic Conference Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. SNU received 96 total votes in the poll, including one first place vote.

Oklahoma Baptist is picked to finish first in the poll, receiving 118 points with eight first place votes. OBU was the 2008-09 regular season champions. Oklahoma City follows with 110 total votes and two first place votes. After SNU is Lubbock Christian in fourth with 90 total votes.

SNU finished 17-5 in Sooner Athletic Conference play a year ago, finishing tied for 3rd place in the SAC final standings with Oklahoma City in the 12-team league. SNU posted a 24-8 record under sixth-year head coach Lori Carter.

To view the complete coaches poll, click here…
2009-10 SAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll

The Crimson Storm made the program’s 18th and 3rd consecutive appearance at the NAIA National Tournament last year after posting a 24-8 record under 7th year head coach, Lori Carter. Carter guided SNU to a 17-5 finish in the SAC last year, which was good enough for 3rd place and earned Carter the SAC’s Coach of the Year award.

While the 08-09 season was another successful one for the Crimson Storm program, SNU left some things undone as the Storm was bounced in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament.

This year, SNU looks to make a return trip to Jackson, and hopefully and extended trip in Tennessee come March.

SNU will have to replace third leading scorer, Kinzie Didier, from a last year’s team. Didier finished up a stellar career as the Crimson Storm program’s 21st all-time leading scorer with 1,161 career points. Didier also finished with over 500 rebounds during her SNU career.

The good news for the Storm is that SNU has a wealth of talent returning from last year’s national tournament team.

Guard
5’8 sophomore Logan Martin will control the guard position. Martin was superb as a freshman, scoring a team high 15.9 points per game and earning SAC Freshman of the Year honors and NAIA Third Team All-American honors last year. Martin had a team high 127 assists and connected on 37% of her three-point attempts, starting all 32 games at the point.

Martin will be joined in the backcourt by returning 5’10 senior, Lauren Langston. Langston appeared in 30 games last year, averaging 1.6 points per contest and hitting 43% from three.

SNU also added junior Katie Novack and freshmen Marsha Durr and Oumoul Thiam to the backcourt during the offseason.

Novack, a 5’9 transfer from Garden City Community College, had an outstanding JUCO career, earning Second Team All-Conference last year after leading the conference in scoring.

Durr, a 5’6 freshman from Plano, Texas, averaged 17.8 points per game as a senior along with 4.3 assists.

Thiam, 6’0 freshman from Senegal, continues the SNU tradition of outstanding players from the country of Senegal and should have an immediate impact for SNU as a freshman.

Forward
The forward position will be highlighted by the return of 6’0 senior, Lana Keith. Keith finished the 08-09 season as an NAIA Third Team All-American and First Team All-Conference selection. Lana averaged 15.8 points per game and tied a school record for most three-pointers made in a season with 79. Keith connected on 41% of her three-point attempts last year, which is 9th best all-time for a single season in school history. For her career, Lana is now 23rd on SNU’s all-time career scoring list with 1,061 points.

Also returning from a year ago at the forward position are sophomores Audra Skimbo and Sharmeda Johnson.

Skimbo, 5’11, appeared in 29 games last year and scored 3.5 points per game. Johnson, 6’0, appeared in 24 games and averaged 2.7 points per game.

SNU will also return redshirt freshman, Jamie Bottger. Bottger was forced to redshirt after suffering a pre-season injury last fall. Bottger comes from Bethany High School where she had a stellar high school career for the Lady Bronchos.

SNU also added 5’11 freshman, Porschea Jeffries, and 5’10 junior, Jacque Farrar to the mix at forward this season.

Jeffries averaged 12.2 points per game as a senior at Del City High School and was a First Team All-Conference selection.

Farrar was an All-State selection at Kingfisher High School before enrolling at Northern Oklahoma Junior College. At NOC, Farrar averaged 8.9 points per game and earned First Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference honors.

Center
The post position will feature two returning players from a year ago, Abbey Marra and Ashley Mantooth.

Marra, a 6’1 sophomore, had a very good freshman season, appearing in 32 games and finishing the year as the team’s fourth leading scorer, averaging 8.4 points per game. Marra added 3.9 rebounds per game and hit 65% of her shots from the floor, which is 4th best all-time for a single season in school history.

Mantooth, a 6’2 sophomore, appeared in 32 games for SNU, starting 28 of those games. For the year, Mantooth averaged 7.1 points per game and grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game.

Wrap-Up
The Crimson Storm has a host of talent returning from last year. A year ago, SNU had seven freshman and expectations were for the 08-09 season to be a rebuilding year, but Lori Carter guided SNU to an impressive 24-win season and a return trip to nationals. This year, with the younger players gaining valuable experience last year, the expectation for SNU has been raised a bit as the Storm look to compete for a conference title and look for a lengthier stay at nationals in March.

To view the 2009-10 women's basketball media guide, click here...

2009-10 Media Guide

(KANSAS CITY, MO.)---Southern Nazarene University freshman guard, Logan Martin, and junior forward, Lana Keith, each earned NAIA Third Team All-American honors it was announced by the NAIA on Tuesday evening.