BETHANY, Okla. – SWOSU Hoops was on the wrong side of a rematch of last year's GAC Championship game following a 71-63 defeat in overtime to a tough Southern Nazarene squad.
 
SNU entered Saturday atop the GAC standings at a perfect 3-0 in league play. The Bulldogs gave them everything they wanted to handle in regulation but came up just short in the overtime period when shots stopped falling.
 
SWOSU overcame a slow start to the game and found themselves in a hole early. They trailed 17-4 with 12:57 to play in the first half before finally kicking it into gear. From there, the Dawgs dug in and made their run.
 
They had things back knotted up at 22-22 with just under five minutes to play in the first half and trailed just 30-26 heading into the halftime locker room.
 
In the second half, things tightened up. SWOSU still played from behind, but with smaller margins. The pendulum swung back to SWOSU late in the half and with just over five minutes to play in the game, it was the Dawgs who led 51-48.
 
In the closing minute, they needed one stop on defense after a Kamden Gipson free throw had the visiting Dawgs ahead 55-54 with 46 seconds left. On the other end of the floor, SNU was fouled and given free throws due to the bonus. They knocked down 1-of-2 to tie things up, giving SWOSU one final shot at the buzzer which did not fall.
 
In overtime, SWOSU shot just 1-for-7 and watched the Crimson Storm close the game on a 7-0 run.
 
Both teams shot under 40% from the field and under 30% from three-point range. Rebounding numbers were nearly identical, but the Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 20-11 which proved to be a difference maker.
 
Ben Smith led the way with 14 points, followed by Chris Braggs, Jr. with 13 and Nate Goodlow's 10.
 
Goodlow also grabbed a team high 11 rebounds, notching his first double-double in a SWOSU uniform.
 
Nick Davis of SNU led their side with a 22-point, 11 rebound performance. A career high scoring day for him came at the wrong time for the Bulldogs.  
 
SWOSU moves to 1-3 in GAC action and back to an even 5-5 on the year. They'll rest up with the holidays before returning to action January 5 at home against Arkansas Monticello.