Bison Makes it Five in a Row with Win Over Monticello

SHAWNEE - The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team held off a furious Arkansas-Monticello rally late in the game to earn their fifth straight victory and eighth win in their last nine games, defeating the Boll Weevils 77-74 on Thursday evening inside the Noble Complex.

For the Bison, it was yet another thriller inside their home gym as they look to lock down the No. 3 seed, possibly even the No. 2 seed, at next week's GAC Tournament on Saturday.

Even more important, OBU continues to build an impressive resume, looking to hang on to that No. 8 seed in the NCAA Central Regional, as they complete the season sweep over UAM.

The Bison shot 24 of 48 (50%) from the field and 6 of 24 (26%) from the field. OBU got it done at the charity stripe, going 23 of 26 (89%) on the night. On the other side, Arkansas-Monticello shot 28 of 68 (41%) from the field and 6 of 24 (25%) from deep. The Weevils were 12 of 28 (67%) from the free throw line on the night.

OBU held a 34-32 advantage in rebounds, but the Weevils had 15 offensive boards. The Bison also had 15 turnovers to only six from UAM. The Weevils dominated categories such as points off turnovers (22) and second change points (17), but OBU found a way to come out victorious.

The Weevils opened the game with a 2-0 lead, but the Bison responded with seven straight points including four from Brantly Thompson for a 7-2 lead. UAM inched back and moved ahead 10-9 before back-to-back lay ups from Mohammad Abubakar put OBU back ahead.

After the two teams exchanged possessions to put the Weevils up by one, OBU fired back with an 8-0 run on buckets from Thompson and Harrison Stoddart to move ahead 23-16.

A Jarius Hicklen 3-pointer got that lead out to 10 with under five to play at 30-20. Monticello responded with an 11-2 run in teh final minutes of the half to go ahead 33-32 with under 40 to play. Sayvon Milton answered with a 3-pointer to swing momentum back to the Bison as they led 35-33 at the break.

After a back-and-forth affair to start the second half, the Bison caught fire as a 3-point play from Dishon Lowery followed by a 3-pointer and a lay in from Hicklen put OBU ahead 52-41. 

UAM got it back down to four with under 10 to play in the contest, but Stoddart responded with a big fastbreak lay up followed by another quick seven points from Hicklen to go back ahead 61-52.

As the game continued, a 3-pointer from Jaquan Simms and a free throw from Rashad Lewis got the game to 10 at 67-57. However, turnovers from OBU and offensive boards from the Weevils spurred an 11-2 run to bring UAM all the way back to within one at 69-68 with 1:16 to play.

OBU used strong free throw shooting and a late dunk from Stoddart to ice the game and take the tough 77-74 win inside Noble. Lewis, Stoddart, and Simms were all perfect at the line in the waning seconds.

Stoddart finished with 16 points to go with three assists and three blocks while Hicklen was terrific again, scoring 15 points off the bench including three triples. Simms and Lowery each had 12 points as Simms added four assists while Lowery had nine rebounds and two steals. Thompson scored 10 to go with six boards and six assists while Abubakar had six points and five boards.

KJ Lesure led UAM with 16 points, five assists, and three steals while Marcus Gilbert pitched in 15 points. Denzel McDuffey scored 14 points to go with seven rebounds.

The Bison move to 19-8 overall and 14-7 in the GAC and will enter their final regular season contest of the season on Saturday against Southern Arkansas. OBU will recognize Lewis, Lowery, and Caleb Norris prior to their 3 p.m. tip-off. The ceremony will take place between the women's and men's game.