SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team returns to the Noble Complex for a 7 p.m. date with East Central Saturday night. This is the 156th all-time meeting between the two, with the Tigers holding a narrow 81-74 series lead over the Bison.
The game will be streamed live on OBUBison.com and heard on the Bison Sports Network featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary.
OBU is coming off a tough loss at the hands of Southeastern Oklahoma State last Saturday as the Savage Storm knocked down 10-of-18 from deep and shot 44.9 percent from the floor.
D.J. Freeman turned in his best outing of the season, finishing one rebound short of his first career double-double with nine boards and 15 points. He led the Bison with five blocks and added a steal to his stat sheet. Burke Putnam scored a team-best 22 points on 47.3 percent shooting and brought down eight rebounds. Nigel Wilcox collected 10 boards en route to eight points, while Jaquan Simms tallied 11 points.
Putnam continues to pace the Bison this season, averaging 21.0 points per game with a 44.9 percent field-goal percentage. Putnam leads the GAC and ranks 29th in the country in scoring, totaling 189 points through nine games. He is second on the team in rebounds (59), including 51 defensive boards, leads in steals (11), and is 39-of-49 (79.6%) from the charity stripe. OBU's next leading scorer, Jaquan Simms, averages 12.1 points per contest. Simms has made a team-best 20 three-pointers this season, ranking seventh in the conference. He is second on the squad for assists (17) and steals (6).
Nigel Wilcox has owned the paint thus far, leading the Bison with 73 rebounds, including 50 defensive boards. His 13 rebounds against Southwestern is the second-most in a league game this year. Wilcox also has 12 blocks, good for third in the GAC and first on the team. He averages 7.7 points per game with a 66.7 field-goal percentage on the offensive side, which is fourth in the conference.
Freeman has come alive for the Bison in the last five games. The freshman averaged 12.4 points and brought down 32 rebounds over that span. On the season, he ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game while shooting 66 percent from the floor. He totals nine blocks and is third on the squad with 53 rebounds. One of Freeman's best perfromances came last week against SEOSU, where he was one rebound shy of recording his first career double-double. Freeman collected 15 points, nine boards, and a season-high five blocks. That is the third-most blocked shots in a game in the GAC this season and is the highest amount for OBU since Harrison Stoddart charted five versus UCO in 2019. The week before, Freeman scored a season-high 20 points against Southwestern on 8-of-9 (88.9%) shooting, the second-best single-game field-goal percentage in the conference this year.
East Central enters the weekend 3-6, including a 1-2 conference record. The Tigers currently rank fourth in the GAC, as their win over Southern Nazarene earlier this season is their sole victory in the league. ECU is coming off a 100-71 win over Southwestern Christian on Tuesday night. The Tigers shot 57.6 percent from the floor and put in nine three-pointers. As a team, the Tigers recorded 17 three-pointers.
Shemar Smith leads East Central in scoring this season, averaging 13.8 points per game in six games of action. Smith is shooting 55.2 percent from the field and ranks third on the team in total rebounds (35). Josh Apple sits right under Smith in scoring, averaging 13.4 per contest on a 47.9 field-goal percentage. In seven games, Apple is second of the squad in rebounds (47) and third in assists (18). The balanced scoring of ECU continues with Jalen Crutchfield and AJ Ferguson Jr., who average 12.7 and 10.0 points per game. Crutchfield has a team-best 22 triples, while Ferguson shoots 56.6 percent from the floor. The Tigers leading rebounder, Romello Wilbert, totals 75 rebounds, including 65 defensive boards. Wilbert leads his team in assists (34) and is ranks second in steals (15). Freshman Brennen Burns is No. 1 in takeaways, recording 20 thus far while averaging 7.6 points per game.
The Tigers are led by first-year head coach Max Pendery. After serving as the interim head coach in April of 2021, Pendery earned the top spot at the end of his inaugural season with ECU. His overall record is 3-6.
