WEATHERFORD, Okla. – D.J. Freeman and
Jordan Thompson scored 20 and 14 points, respectively, off the bench to help Oklahoma Baptist to a 79-67 win at Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
OBU moved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Great American Conference with the result.
The contributions off the bench for the green and gold were a big part of Saturday's win against the Bulldogs. By the end, the team had a 34-8 advantage in bench points.
In addition to Freeman and Thompson's efforts,
Nigel Wilcox registered a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go along with two blocks. Plus,
Jaquan Simms and
Justin Tene added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Collectively, OBU's unit was solid, hitting 49 percent for the game and 15-of-19 (78.9%) at the foul line.
Within the first 90 seconds of competition, the Bulldogs got out to a 7-2 lead following a Chris Braggs, Jr. jumper. However, that would be their biggest advantage over the course of the afternoon. After that, the Bison got in gear.
Eleven straight points were registered by OBU, including five straight from Simms which gave the Bison a 9-7 lead. By the end of the stretch, an offensive rebound and put-back layup from Freeman moved OBU ahead 13-7 with 14:50 left.
Over the remainder of the half, OBU stayed in front and ended up leading 42-33 at the break after a Simms jumper.
Following intermission, the Bulldogs got within two points on a couple occasions. The last of those saw Braggs, Jr. sink two free throws at 10:17. At that point, the Bison led 50-48. Once more, OBU hit another solid run, this time the game-clincher.
A 10-0 stretch saw a pair of three-pointers from Thompson and
Burke Putnam which gave the green and gold a 60-48 lead with about seven minutes left. SWOSU could only manage cracking that double-digit lead twice after that as OBU eventually won 79-67.
The Bison will return to action on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. when they host Southeastern Oklahoma State at Noble Complex.
