DURANT, Okla. - Oklahoma Baptist hung tough with the GAC favorite Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm on their home floor, but ultimately the Bison could not contain the hot shooting home team as they fell on Thursday evening 94-79 in their conference opener.
OBU shot 28 of 63 (44%) from the field and 9 of 23 (39%) from deep while going 14 of 17 (82%) from the charity stripe. Southeastern was red hot all game, going 33 of 57 (58%) from the field, 12 of 22 (55%) from behind the arc, and 16 of 22 (73%) from the free throw line.
Southeastern held a 33-30 rebounding advantage while the two teams were even in turnovers at nine a piece. OBU dominated bench points with a 40-7 advantage while Southeastern had a slight 38-34 advantage in points in the paint.
It was a tale of runs in the first half as Southeastern jumped out to a 20-7 lead behind hot shooting especially from behind the arc. OBU did not lay down quietly as they knocked down a pair of 3-pointers of their own from Harrison Stoddart and Rashad Lewis while also getting jumpers in the paint to fall to cut the deficit all the way down to 25-21.
Southeastern proceeded to go on a 12-0 run in the blink of an eye as they used the three ball to build their lead back up.Â
Down 40-27, the Bison found an 11-0 run of their own behind a pair of 3-pointers from Jaquan Simms and a three from Simms to make it a 40-38 game. OBU's depth would both the Savage Storm the rest of the break as they went down 44-41 going into the break.
It would be a back-and-forth affair in the second half with Southeastern keeping a single digit cushion but Oklahoma Baptist finding an answer each time to stay within striking distance.
Fouls began to mount against the Bison as a 9-1 run by the Savage Storm pushed the lead back to double digit sat 72-59 win eight minutes to play.
OBU began to cool down from the field and just couldn't find any magic in the final minutes of the game as the lead for Southeastern grew as high at 19 to finish off the 94-79 home victory.
Lewis and Mohammed Abubakar each had 11 points with Lewis adding a pair of steals and Abubakar finishing with nine rebounds. Dishon Lowery pitched in 10 points while Jaquan Simms, Harrison Stoddart, and Jarius Hicklen all had nine points. Simms added four assists in the contest.
Kevin Buckingham led Southeastern with 21 points and five assists while A'Torey Everett had 19 points. Kellen Manek had 18 points, Kayo Goncalves had 17 points and 10 boards, and Adam Dworsky had 12 points and 11 assists.
OBU moves to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in GAC play. They return to action on Saturday afternoon as their three game road stand ends and they return to the friendly confines of the Noble Complex. The Bison will take on Northwestern Oklahoma State with tip-off set for 3 p.m.
