Bethany, Okla. - Charlie Shorter scored a season-high 26 points, but it wasn't quite enough as the Mid-America Christian Evangels lost a tough one on the road at the No. 18-ranked Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm, 78-72 in Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Thursday night (Dec. 1) at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla.
Shorter was huge all night and kept the Evangels alive by drilling a three from the left wing to bring the deficit down to 72-67 with 2:54 left.
Camilo Valencia then hit a three off a Shorter assists and converted a steal into a layup that made it a one-point game at 73-72.
Down 74-72, the Evangels (4-2, 0-2 SAC) forced a turnover on the defensive end, but failed to convert and Jon West hit all four of his free-throw attempts to seal the win for the Crimson Storm.
Brandon Williams and Shorter combined for nine points early on to help the Evangels get off to a good start with a 13-8 lead at the 13:25 mark of the opening half.
The duo continued to connect as Williams hit a jumper that was followed by a three from Shorter for a 19-12 lead with 11:08 left in the first half.
The Crimson Storm (5-1, 1-0 SAC) battled back as five straight points from West and a three by Horace McGloster gave SNU a 20-19 lead.
Another jumper by Shorter put the Evangels up 31-27 and Valencia fed Cameron Langster underneath for a bucket as the first half expired for a 35-32 lead at the break.
After a pair of free throws by Williams gave the Evangels a 40-35 lead in the beginning stages of the second half, five turnovers and nine points from Ryan Aaron sparked a 13-0 run that gave SNU a 48-40 lead with 15:10 remaining.
A layup by Langster and two free throws from George Haynes snapped the run and brought the Evangels to within 48-44 with still 14:11 left.
But a score from West and a three by Aaron gave the Crimson Storm their largest lead of the night to that point at 53-44.
SNU extended the lead to double-figures at 62-52 when Shorter hit a three and then a jumper to cut the lead to 62-57.
It was 65-59 when a three-point by Aaron extended the lead back to nine at the 6:17 mark.
Shorter's 26 points came on 11-of-26 shooting from the floor. Williams finished with 13 and Haynes added 11. Williams and Blake Larson tied for the team-lead with seven rebounds, while Valencia scored seven and dished out a game-high eight assists.
Aaron led all scorers with 32 for the Crimson Storm, with West chipping in with 15 and McGloster adding 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Evangels out-shot the Crimson Storm 45.2 percent (28-of-62) to 44.1 percent (26-of-59), but were hurt on the boards as SNU held a 42-31 advantage in rebounds and an 18-12 edge on the offensive glass.
Next up for the Evangels is a conference matchup at USAO on Saturday evening (Dec. 3) at 5 p.m. in Chickasha, Okla.
