BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Winners of eight of their last nine and currently the No. 8 seed in the Central Region, the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team will look to postseason play as they head for the Great American Conference Championship as the No. 4 seed, looking to officially punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
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OBU will see a familiar foe in the GAC Quarterfinals in No. 5 seeded East Central, a team OBU defeated last year in the GAC Quarterfinals by the score of 73-66.Â
Tip-off is slated for 12:00 p.m. on Friday from the Bruin Fieldhouse at Bartlesville High Scool. The games will be on KGFF in Shawnee with Todd Miller and Scott Wanish.
Oklahoma Baptist closed out the regular season on their home floor against Southern Arkansas. Coach Eaker and his squad celebrated a tremendous milestone, winning their 20th game of the season for the first time since 2012-13 as they defeated Southern Arkansas on Senior Day 69-63 behind an 18 point outing from
Rashad Lewis and a 16 point game from
Harrison Stoddart.
On the other end, Caleb Williams pulled down his first career double-double while Cameron Talley scored 18 points as ECU celebrated four seniors. However, Henderson State prevented OBU from grabbing the No. 3 seed as they held off the Tigers for a 99-94 overtime win despite a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force OT by Zac Neely.
OBU is trending up, having won eight of their last nine while ECU is trending down, having lost six of their last seven. The two met twice this season and split the series with ECU winning 97-85 in Ada before OBU evened it up in Shawnee with a thrilling 99-96 double OT win.
In Ada last December, it was a nightmare start for Oklahoma Baptist that they were not able to recover from as they fell into a 14-0 hole in the first five minutes of the game. The Bison were never able to push ahead as they played from behind the rest of the contest despite a 15 point game from
Kurt Hall and 14 from Stoddart. Talley scored 20 while Tyler Arnold poured in 17.
The two faced off again in Shawnee in February, fresh off a thrilling rivalry win over SNU for the Bison. OBU led for most of the game, pushing their lead to double digits, but a furious second half rally forced OT. After the deadlock would not break after one OT, OBU pulled away in the second overtime thanks to a game-sealing 3-pointer from Lewis, who scored 17, along with 20 points from
Jarius Hicklen and 19 from
Jaquan Simms.
The two teams also met in the quarterfinals a year ago in Bartlesville with OBU earning their first ever win at the GAC Tournament, defeating the Tigers 73-66.
Brantly Thompson scored 23 in the win while
Antonio Wade poured in 17 points.
Balance and depth has been the key for Oklahoma Baptist all season long as four different players average double digit scorimg in Simms (12.4), Lewis (12.1), Stoddart (11.7), and Lowery (10.1). Hicklen and Thompson both average around nine per game.Â
Lewis comes off a tremendous February, averaging around 14 points per game and nearly six assists per contest. He was named GAC Player of the Week after a pair of 20 point outing in big wins over Arkansas Tech and Harding.
Additionally, Lowery also had a big month, averaging 13.0 points per game to go with nine boards while also pulling down three double-doubles in the process. OBU hopes wins in Bartlesville inches them closer to punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
East Central has struggled as of late but are still a prolific team when it comes to scoring the basketball. Cameron Talley has been one of the best scorers in the GAC the last few years, averaging 21.3 points per game in 19-20. He has had double-digit scoring outings in 19 straight games and has had 20 or more points in 18 games, 30 or more points in three games, one 40 point game.
Tyler Arnold checks in with 11.8 points per game while Gerran Jackson averages 10.1 points per game. ECU has their share of success in the postseason, sharing the regular season crown in 2016 and 2017 while being the last team not named Southern Nazarene to win the tournament crown in 2017.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate in Bartlesville. The GAC offers an All-Session Pass for $55 and an All-Session Pass for students for $27. Family Single-Sessions are $30 while Single Sessions tickets are $12 for general and $7 for students.
