SHAWNEE - One thing is for certain, if you make your way to the Noble Complex to watch the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team, you are going to be treated to a tremendous game each time.
That was the case on Saturday afternoon as the Bison moved to 10-1 inside the friendly confines after a thrilling 99-96 win over East Central.
It was an electric game as the Bison overcame foul trouble and a double-digit deficit to come-from-behind and earn the tough win, vaulting them into fourth place in the GAC by themselves.
The Bison shot 30 of 65 (46%) from the field and 11 of 26 (42%) fom beyond the arc. OBU was excellent at the free throw line as they went 28 of 33 (84%) from the charity stripe. On the other end, the Tigers were 35 of 65 (54%) from the field, 8 of 22 (36%) from deep, and 18 of 21 (86%) from the free throw line.
OBU outrebounded East Central 39-32 and forced the Tigers into 15 turnovers while giving it away 14 times. The Bison got a key 37 points off the bench and 32 points in the paint.
After OBU raced out to a 6-5 lead thanks to buckets from
Dishon Lowery,
Harrison Stoddart, and free throws from
Trey Green, but East Central was red hot all first half as a 13-2 run gave them an 18-8 lead. The Tigers pushed that lead as high as 13 in the first half, moving ahead 30-17 with 7:27 to play.
The Bison had four of their starters with two fouls or more while East Central shot a blistering 65 percent from the field throughout the half.
However, the likes of
Jarius Hicklen,
Trey Green,
Sayvon Milton,
Jack Pruitt, and
Caleb Norris began to wheel the Bison back. The bench, along with
Jaquan Simms, came away with key Tiger turnovers and got big possessions to chip away at the deficit.
Down 36-25 with four to play, OBU outscored ECU 12-4 in the final minutes of the half and looked at a 40-37 deficit going into the break.
It would be fireworks in the second half as OBU scored the first five points including a monster put back jam from Lowery to take a 42-40 lead. The bench continued to give OBU momentum as Green and Hicklen knocked down 3-pointers while Milton had back-to-back lay-ups to push OBU ahead 52-46.
As more starters found their footing for OBU it turned into a back-and-forth affair all throughout the second half as the two hot offenses traded bucket for bucket. The Bison moved back ahead 73-67 with 7:12 to play on a
Brantly Thompson 3-pointer, but East Central responded.
Each time ECU had an answer, a Lowery 3-point play or a Stoddart deep ball kept OBU ahead. However, it turned into a free throw shooting contest late in the game as East Central was able to wheel back and eventually tie it late. A great look from Hicklen at the buzzer was shot and the game moved to overtime.
After an ECU lay up, Hicklen drained a three in the corner to go back ahead by one. The two teams would trade possessions and the game remained deadlocked at 93 a piece with 1:27 to play.
After two Simms free throws to go back up two, OBU got the stop they needed.
Rashad Lewis provided the dagger as he buried a 3-pointer off a hand-off to close the game out with 35 seconds to play.
Free throws and late 3-pointers closed it out as the Bison earned a 99-96 victory, their fourth straight at home.
Hicklen finished with 20 points on 4 of 8 shooting including 9 of 10 from the free throw line while Simms added 19 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Lewis scored 17 to go with eight boards and six assists while Lowery had 13 points and nine rebounds. Green had 11 points and three 3-pointers while Stoddart scored seven and Milton and Thompson had six.
Tylor Arnold scored 24 points and had 7 assists while Bishop Coulter and Matt Garriga each had 18 points. The Bison did another wonderful job with a prolific scorer, holding Cameron Talley to 11 points of 4 of 11 shooting.
The Bison move to 16-8 overall and 11-7 in the GAC. They will hit the road for the final time in the regular season beginning on Thursday night in Russellville as they take on Arkansas Tech at 7:30 p.m.
