BETHANY, Okla. – In the lowest scoring game so far this season, SWOSU Men's Basketball fell 61-53 on the road on Saturday to Southern Nazarene.

The loss is SWOSU's first of the conference season, dropping them to 2-1 in league play and 5-3 overall. SNU maintains their unblemished GAC record, now 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

The Dawg defense limited SNU to 37.5% shooting overall on Saturday, tied for their season low, and 18% from beyond the arc with just three makes – both also new SNU season lows. That defense was reciprocated though, with the Crimson Storm keeping SWOSU under 40% shooting on the day with just four three-pointers.

Free throws were a big difference maker in favor of SNU. For a second straight game, the Bulldogs finished right at 50% from the line with nine makes on 18 attempts. Meanwhile, the Storm made 41 trips to the charity stripe with 28 makes. It's the most foul shots a SWOSU opponent has taken so far this season.

Things were close throughout inside the Sawyer Center, as SWOSU held a 40-39 lead with 6:40 left to play before the Storm made enough plays down the stretch to win it. Both teams struggled offensively in the early going with a 23-16 halftime score in favor of SNU.

The Dawgs shot just 7-for-28 (25%) in the first half but regrouped at halftime and shot 54% after the break which included three of their four three-point makes on the day.

Eli Al-Debaran led the Dawgs with 13 points on 4-of-10 from the field. MJ Warrior added 12 with five rebounds, four steals, and four assists.

Up next for SWOSU will be a home Monday matchup with East Central on December 16. Tipoff against the Tigers will come at 7:30 pm.