SHAWNEE – On Monday night, the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team knew it was going to take everything they had to knock off a three-time GAC champion and take home a division title.
Challenge accepted.
The Bison outscored Southern Nazarene 46-33 in the second half and pulled away from the visitors from Bethany down the stretch to claim an 85-76 victory and clinch the GAC Western Division championship and No. 1 seed in the upcoming GAC Tournament.
OBU clinched the right to host the quarterfinals and semifinals with potential to also host the GAC Championship Game.
The first part of the mission is accomplished. And it took everything the Bison had in them on Monday night inside the Noble Complex.
OBU shot their second-highest total this season, going 31-of-57 (54%) from the field, including 7-of-20 (35%) from deep, and 16-of-20 (80%) from the line. OBU outrebounded the Crimson Storm 32-25, including eight offensive boards, and only turned it over 12 times on the night.
On the other end, SNU shot a season-high 28-of-55 (51%), including 10 3-pointers, as well as going 10-of-12 (83%) at the line.
The Bison held an 11-2 advantage in second chance points, a 22-10 advantage in bench points, and a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint which all played a huge factor in the win.
The two teams lit up the scoreboard in the early going as
Harrison Stoddart, Branty Thompson,
Nigel Wilcox, and
Jaquan Simms all got on the board in the first five minutes to take a 10-8 lead.
The Crimson Storm responded with a 3-pointer before Wilcox got his third lay in to retake the lead at 12-11. SNU rattled off an 11-0 run to take a 23-12 lead midway through the first half. SNU was a red-hot 8-of-11 in the early part of the first half, taking the Bison crowd out of it early on.
OBU found its footing again on offense and slowly began to chip away, but the red-hot Storm continued to hit shots, eventually opening up a 14-point lead at 36-22.
The Bison bounced back with a much needed 8-0 run thanks to a 3-point play from Stoddart, a layup from Wilcox, and a 3-pointer from Thompson to cut the deficit ot 36-30.
SNU stretched the lead back to 40-32, but five straight points from
Jarius Hicklen closed the gap to 40-37. SNU would connect on its seventh 3-pointer of the half to make the lead 43-37, but Stoddart got a lay in before the buzzer to make it a 43-39 game at the break.
Trey Green would open the second half with a three thanks to a big time offensive rebound from Wilcox to make it a one-point game. SNU held on to its lead as the two teams exchanged buckets, with the Crimson Storm eventually pushing their advantage to 54-49 five minutes into the half.
The Bison responded with a lay in from Thompson, and a steal by Stoddart leading to massive jam and three-point play from Wilcox to take their first lead since early in the first half at 55-54.
SNU got the lead right back before a three-point play from Hicklen pushed the Bison back ahead by two. After an SNU turnover, Thompson again went to work, driving by his man and getting the lay in to push the OBU lead out to 60-56.
The Crimson Storm rallied with four quick points to even it again and the race was on as the two heavyweights traded baskets back and forth. Five straight points from Hicklen, including a big 3-pointer, gave OBU a 69-65 lead, but SNU scored four straight of their own to tie it at 69 with under five to play.
Similar to their last meeting in Bethany, the final five minutes was OBU's time as five straight points from Thompson and Simms got the lead to 74-69. After a lay in from SNU, Hicklen finished strong at the basket, plus the foul, to get the Bison lead to six.
SNU cut it back down to four with just over a minute to play, but Hicklen finished with a beautiful fading jumper off the backboard to make it a six-point game. Simms would add free throws after a forced turnover and suddenly OBU had an eight-point lead.
The Bison used defense and free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory and the division over their rivals from Bethany.
Thompson responded from a quiet night Saturday with a huge 20-point game on 8-of-13 shooting to go with five boards, while Hicklen scored 20 on 6-of-12 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Wilcox added 17 points with seven boards, and Simms had 13 points and four assists.
Stoddart scored 10 with nine rebounds and three blocks, while Green had his lone 3-pointer to go with four assists and a steal.
SNU was led by Adokiye Iyaye with 19 points, while Karlyn Kenner scored 18 points with six boards and a steal. Manny Dixon added 13, while Xavier Bryany had 12 points and seven assists.
The Bison move to 12-4 overall and 12-3 in the GAC with the No. 1 seed locked in. OBU will look to continue to build momentum into the postseason beginning on Thursday night as they travel to Ada to take on East Central. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. from the Kerr Activities Center.
