SHAWNEE - Rashad Lewis found
Dishon Lowery under the basket with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team to a thrilling 64-63 win over GAC leader and 18th-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday evening at the Noble Complex.
It was a tough night shooting for a pair of teams that are typically red hot from the field. The Bison were 26 of 74 (35%) from the field including 6 of 31 (19%) from behind the arc and 6 of 9 (67%) at the free throw line. On the other end, Southeastern was 27 of 65 (42%) from the field, 6 of 25 (24%) from behind the arc, and 3 of 5 (60%) from the free throw line.
Southeastern held a slight 45-41 advantage in rebounds, but OBU forced Southeastern into 12 turnovers while only turning it over a season-low three times. The Bison had 36 points in the paint and 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 17 second chance points.
It was a slow start for both teams out the gate as both could not get anything from long range to fall. OBU built a 6-2 lead early on behind four points from
Harrison Stoddart and built that lead to 12-6 as they continued to get buckets at the basket. As Southeastern closed the gap to one point,
Jarius Hicklen knocked down a 3-pointer to give OBU a 19-15 lead at the midway point of the half.
Southeastern used an 8-0 run to surge ahead and take a 23-19 lead, but OBU responded with a 3-pointer from
Jaquan Simms and a lay in from Stoddart to go back ahead 24-23. OBU used strong defense to slow down the Savage Storm the rest of the way and the Bison got another 3-pointer and a lay in from Lewis to take a 31-28 lead into the break.
Lowery would go to work in the second half, manhandling the paint while Lewis buried a second triple to get the lead out to 38-28 very early in the second half. Southeastern suddenly heated up from deep to get it back down to three, but OBU pushed it back to nine as Lowery continued to do work along with Simms and
Brantly Thompson.
Southeastern chipped away and got it back down to two points, but a 3-pointer from Stoddart pushed the lead back to five at 55-50 with under six to play. OBU went cold as Southeastern scored the next six points on wild possessions to move ahead 56-55 with under three to play behind Lowery hit a huge jumped from the free throw line to go back ahead.
Kevin Buckingham responded with a 3-pointer from the logo to lead 59-57, but Lowery got strong in the paint and went to the line, hitting two free throws to even it back up at 59.Â
Southeastern hit a jumped with under a minute to play to lead 61-59, but Lewis, the hero from the Henderson State game, came off a screen and buried another 3-pointer with 38 seconds to play. A'Torey Everett hit a mid range jumper with 15 seconds left to take a 63-62 lead and set up OBU.
Lewis drove down the lane and into the paint, drawing a man, and dished it off to an open Lowery who finished at the rim to give the Bison a 64-63 lead with 1.4 to play. Southeastern's desperation three went begging and the Noble Complex exploded in euphoria for the thrilling win.
Lowery finished with 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting to go with eight rebounds and a steal. He was also a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line, all coming in the second half. Lewis scored 13 points including three 3-pointers to go with six boards, six assists, and two steals while Stoddart had 11 points and eight boards as well as three blocks. Thompson scored eight points and had four rebounds and two steals while Simms had seven points and five rebounds.
Everett led the Savage Storm with 16 points while Buckingham had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Kellen Manek added 11 points and nine rebounds.
OBU moves to 14-7 overall and 9-6 in the GAC, two games up on the rest of the field and one game back of third place. The Bison hit the road on Saturday morning as they head to Weatherford for a 1 p.m. tip-off with Southwestern Oklahoma State.
