BETHANY, Okla. – The Ouachita Tigers fell to 1-1 in the Great American Conference on Saturday, losing 87-74 to the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm.
 
The Tigers held a lead for only 36 seconds in the 40-minute game, as the Crimson Storm were able to limit any comeback from the Tigers and at one point held their largest lead of 14.
 
Southern Nazarene (2-2, 2-0 GAC) jumped out to an early 11-3 lead in the first half behind a 9-0 run, highlighted by six points from CJ Rodriguez. A 5-0 run for Ouachita later in the half pulled the Tigers within one, but the Crimson Storm quickly responded and took a 22-12 lead with 9:23 until halftime.
 
The Crimson Storm held at least a two-possession lead for the rest of the half, and after a three-pointer from Jontavis Willis, Ouachita entered the break down 37-31. Lakee Westbrook led the Tigers with 11 first-half points, followed by Willis and Tirrell Brown with six each.
 
Westbrook started the second half with a three-pointer, and Jordan Corbitt followed with a layup to pull Ouachita within two points, but the Crimson Storm answered once again with three free-throws to increase their lead to five.
 
Later in the second half, Brown sparked an 11-1 run for the Tigers with a layup with 14:09 to go in the contest. The run lasted four minutes and 20 seconds until Brown scored again to give Ouachita a 53-52 lead. Southern Nazarene responded immediately, however, with a three-pointer to take the lead back. The Crimson Storm held that lead until the final buzzer, eventually winning 87-74.
 
The Tigers finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the field, while SNU was 55.3 percent on field goals, including 12-23 from deep. The Crimson Storm also added 23 free-throws. Ouachita's bench did outscore SNU's 18-10, and the Tigers recorded 15 points off turnovers and eight second-chance points.
 
Westbrook finished with a team-high 21 points in 31 minutes, including 10-11 from the charity stripe. Brown followed with 10 points and five rebounds.
 
The Tigers (1-3, 1-1 GAC) will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 27, as Ouachita will travel to Stephenville, Texas to take on Tarleton State. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the Tigers will play again in Stephenville on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Texas A&M – Kingsville.