RUSSELLVILLE, Ark.- Dishon Lowery's put back dunk with 0.3 seconds remaining forced overtime while a go-ahead 3-pointer and six points in the final two minutes from
Jarius Hicklen in double overtime gave the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team an 85-80 win over Arkansas Tech on Thursday evening at Tucker Coliseum.
The Bison shot 36 of 78 (46%) from the field and 4 of 26 (15%) from deep while going 9 of 12 (75%) fom the free throw line while the Wonder Boys were 33 of 86 (38%) from the field, 6 of 30 (20%) from deep, and 8 of 11 (73%) from the free throw line.
OBU held a slight 52-47 advantage in rebounds despite turning it over 16 times to Tech's 12. OBU held a 46-44 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-18 advantage in second chance points. The Bison also got 19 points from its bench.
It was as ugly of a start by both teams from behind the arc as neither team could buy a 3-point shot, but OBU was the beneficiary, jumping out to an 8-2 lead behind four points from
Harrison Stoddart and pushing that lead to 19-4 as the Bison dominated the paint and took advantage of an ice cold Wonder Boy team. Stoddart scored nine in the first 10 minutes.
OBU would push that lead to 27-10 as numerous players got involved in the scoring including Lowery,
Brantly Thompson, and
Jarius Hicklen. A 3-pointer from
Rashad Lewis late in the half gave OBU their biggest lead at 34-15, but Tech got lay in at the buzzer to cut it to 34-17 at the break.
The Tech drought ended and ended fast as the Wonder Boys came out hot in the second half behind a huge half from Devante Foster while OBU faltered on the offensive end. The Wonder Boys stormed back in the first eight minutes, outscoring OBU 16-2 in the process, to cut the game to 36-33 before Hicken free throws finally stopped the run.
The Bison were able to build the lead back out to seven as some offense began to get going for OBU behind Lewis, Lowery, and Hicklen. However, Tech ralled back and cut it as close as two, trailing OBU 46-44 with eight minutes to play.
The teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth before Tech finally took the lead for the first time as a 3-pointer and lay in put them ahead 52-51 with five minutes to play.
OBU responded with jumpers from Lewis and Hicklen to move back up three, but Tech responded to tie it back at 56. Hicklen buried a huge 3-pointer to take a 59-56 lead with under two to play, but R.J. Glasper responded with a 3-pointer of his own to even it back. Tech stole the pass in the backcourt and got a lay in to go up by two.
Lewis responded on the other end with a floater in the paint to tie the game at 61 with 36 seconds to play. Tech drew a foul with six seconds and Ke'Lyn Adams hit both free throws to move ahead 63-61.
On the other end, Lewis lined up a 3-pointer for the win that missed short, but Lowery skied for the rebound and flushed down the put back dunk to even the game back at 63 and force overtime.
No team could hold more than a two point lead in the first overtime as free throws were a major factor in the period. Lewis hit another big shot late in the period on a runner to give OBU a 73-71 lead but Glasper answered with a lay up of his own with nine seconds to go. Lewis got a runner off for the win, but missed off the front end where
Trey Green just missed a tip in as time expired to go to a second overtime.
Down their two big men in Stoddart and Lowery, OBU battled in the final frame. After falling behind on a Glasper 3-pointer with three minutes to play, OBU ripped off a huge 8-0 run to take control of the game.
Brantly Thompson hit a huge jumper and following a stop, Hicklen buried a 3-pointer from the wing to move back ahead 80-78. After a stop by the Bison, Lewis hit 1 of 2 free throws to go ahead 81-78. Down to one minutes to play, Tech missed a game-tying 3-pointer and OBU came down with the reobund. Hicklen iced the game with a silky smooth mid-range jumper to go ahead 83-78.
From there, free throws closed it out as OBU escaped Russellville with an unbelievable 85-80 double overtime win.
Lewis continues to have ice in his veins as he finished with 25 points including five assists while Hicklen added 17 points and two steals in the contest. Thompson scored 14 points while Lowery was a monster with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Stoddart added 11 points and five rebounds in only 23 minutes played.
Glasper scored 24 to go with seven assists while Foster had 24 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Adams scored 12 off the bench to go with six boards while Kevin McNeal had 10 points.
Oklahoma Baptist, who is currenly eighth in the Central Region, moves to 17-8 overall and 12-7 in the GAC. They have won three in a row, four of their last five, and will look to complete a perfect weekend on the road as they travel to Searcy to take on Harding. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
