Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Facing Ouachita in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championships for third-straight year, Southern Nazarene finally knocked off the Tigers as the top-seeded Crimson Storm registered an 80-66 victory on Thursday from the Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
The Crimson Storm (25-2) never trailed in advancing to the semifinals of the GAC Championships for the first time in program history. They built a 10-point lead midway through the opening period and never let Ouachita (12-16) draw closer than 14 points ever in the second half.
 
Noah Starkey, the GAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, showed off his offensive skills by scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He blocked three shots. GAC Player of the Year Jhonathan Dunn added 15 points; Quaylon Newton chipped in eight points and a contest-leading 13 rebounds. First-Team All-GAC guard Micah Speight scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added three assists and three steals.
 
Jontavis Willis paced the Tigers. He scored 16 points and went 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc.
 
The win gave the Crimson Storm their 10^th 25-win season in program history and their first of their Division II era. Southern Nazarene last won 25 games in a season in 2010-11 when they posted a 26-8 mark.
 
The Crimson Storm will face the winner of the Southeastern Oklahoma State-Arkansas Tech contest in Saturday’s opening semifinal, set for noon. Southern Nazarene won two single-digit contests against the Wonder Boys and recorded a five-point in Durant and a 14-point home win against the Savage Storm.