Men Begin Game Road Trip at SNU, NWOSU

SHAWNEE - Winners of three straight contests and six of their last seven, the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team get set to begin a four game road trip beginning on Thursday against Southern Nazarene followed by a tilt with Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday between the Bison and the Crimson Storm while Saturday's game between the Bison and Rangers is set for 3 p.m., both following the women's game.. The game will be on KGFF in Shawnee with Todd Miller and Scott Wanish.

OBU moved to 7-0 inside the Noble Complex last weekend with one of their most complete weekends of the season, blasting Harding 95-67 before taking down a tough Arkansas Tech squad 75-61. The Bison moved to 10-4 overall and 5-3 in the GAC and are playing at a very high level.

One of the key reasons to their reason success has been on the defensive end as they Bison have held their last three opponents to a combined 37 percent shooting from the field.  The Bison have paired that with a prolific offense and a deep bench to really put together some great basketball the last few weeks.

Jaquan Simms lead the way for OBU with 13.1 points per game as he shoots 45 percent from the field and behind the arc. He scored a career-high 31 points in the win over Harding including eight made 3-pointers and a heart-stopping buzzer beating trey to the end the half. He struggled offensively against Arkansas Tech but still finished with five assists, nine rebounds, and two steals, bumping his assists total to 43 on the season.

Rashad Lewis is second on the team with 10.9 points per game, and though his scoring numbers have been down the last three contests, Lewis still averaged five assists and five rebounds throughout the stretch and is tops on the team in assists with 56 and steals with 19.

Harrison Stoddart scored 16 points in the win over Tech on Saturday and averages 10.6 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game to go with 19 blocks. Brantly Thompson scored 10 against Harding and 11 against Tech and averages 9.4 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Dishon Lowery averaged over six rebounds per game in the team's last three contests. He had 8.7 points per game on the season and leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game. Jarius Hicklen has been excellent as of late, averaging a little over 10 points per game off the bench in his last three contests while shooting 50 percent from the field. Kurt Hall was terrific against Tech with 10 points off the bench and five boards including two offensive. Mohammed Abubakar comes off a nice weekend of his own with nine points against Harding on Thursday.

The Bison run into an excellent Southern Nazarene team on Thursday night in Bethany, winners of the last two Great American Conference regular season and conference tournament titles. The Crimson Storm have had their struggles, particularly on the road, as they sit at 11-5 this season and 5-3 in the GAC, but have been monsters at home all season long.

SNU is led by their excellent pair of senior guards in Jhonathan Dunn and Micah Speight. Dunn is on a tear in 2019-20, averaging 27.8 points per game on 55 percent from the field and 47 percent from behind the arc. He adds 26 steals and 33 assists. Speight is second with 19.2 points per game on 43 percent from deep to go with 84 assists and 29 steals. 

Following the match up with SNU, OBU will get their second meeting with Northwest Oklahoma State, this time in Alva. The Bison defeated the Rangers 83-71 in Shawnee thanks to 18 points by Thompson, 13 from Stoddart, and an impressive 12 points and 12 boards from Lowery. 

The Rangers are fresh off a win over Ouachita and sit at 5-9 overall and 2-6 in the GAC

Parrish Hewitt leads Northwest with 15.1 points per game including a 17 point outing in the loss in Shawnee. Hewitt is a volume scorer, but has low shooting numbers and leads the team with 43 turnovers. Jaedon Whitfield is second with 13.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. Whitfield scored 12 off the bench in Shawnee.

OBU sits one game back of first place in the GAC with East Central, Southeastern Oklahoma State, and Henderson State all clinging to the lead at 6-2 entering a rivalry night in the GAC on Thursday.