Bison Take on LCU in South Central Region Semifinals

LUBBOCK, Texas - After securing their first ever win in the NCAA Tournament over GAC foe Arkansas-Monticello, the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team will look to make it two straight as they take on No. 2 seed Lubbock Christian in the semifinals of the South Central Region.

Sunday's contest will  be featured on the Bison Radio Network across the state of Oklahoma and worldwide on the iHeartRadio app with play-by-play man Todd Miller and color commentator Scott Wanish.

Oklahoma Baptist is one game away from the South Central Region Championship Game as they come off a thrilling high in the win over Arkansas-Monticello and prepare to take on host school in LCU inside the Rip Griffin Center.

The two former NAIA conference rivals meet for the first time since 2012-13 as OBU owns a 35-12 advantage over the Chaps. The two split their season series inside their home gyms the last time the two schools squared off.

OBU had to wait 365 days to finally play in its first NCAA Tournament as they rolled GAC Tournament Champion Arkansas-Monticello, holding the Boll Weevils to an opponent's season-low 28 percent from the field.

For the Bison, it was their first ever NCAA Tournament win and their first national postseason victory since 2012-13, winning in the first round of the NAIA Tournament over Arizona Christian, 83-73, on March 14, 2013. 

A win on Sunday would be the first time OBU has won multiple national postseason games in the same season since the 2011-12 season when OBU made the NAIA National Championship Game. 

Oklahoma Baptist finished with 10 offensive rebounds in the win over UAM on Saturday night. It is the ninth time this season that OBU has 10 or more offensive rebounds and in those games, the Bison possess a 9-0 record. Additionally, five of those wins have come by double digits. Overall, OBU is 16-2 this season when they out rebound their opponent and 0-3 when they have been even or out rebounded.

OBU also matched a season-high with nine steals in the UAM contest including two steals from Trey Green and Jaquan Simms.

Jarius Hicklen leads the way for Oklahoma Baptist with 16.4 points per game and 3.9 boards as he has been one of the top scorers in all the GAC this season. Hicklen shooting 42 percent from behind the arc and scored 16 on six made shots in the win over UAM.

Brantly Thompson comes off his third game this season with five or more 3-pointers as he scored 17 in the UAM win, averaging 14.3 points per game this season to go with over four boards and four assists.

Thompson is one 3-pointer away from his 50th made shot from beyond the arc this season. He would become the second Bison along with Simms last season (77) to make 50 or more 3's since Steve Green knocked down 66 during the 2015-16 season. Thompson has five or more 3's in three contests.

Nigel Wilcox adds 8.6 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and 30 blocks after a 14 points, 15 rebound game against UAM. Harrison Stoddart checks in with 13.9 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, and 30 blocks while Simms adds 10.6 points per game and Jordan Thompson adds 7.7 points. Green adds nearly five points with close to a steal per game.

Wilcox continues to own the boards for OBU, picking up 10 or more rebounds in four of his last five games including a season-high 15 in the win over UAM. Wilcox is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game to go with 11.6 points in his last five contests and has a double-double in three of those games.

Stoddart in 17th in the country with double-doubles at seven this season with Wilcox not far behind at five total. Wilcox and Stoddart are also tied for 10th in the country in total blocked shots with 30 each on the season,though Wilcox has not blocked a shot in three straight games.

Justin Tene has continued to see an uptick in minutes at the back up center position including a season-high 15 minutes against Southern Arkansas. Tene, who averaged under two points per game most of the season, has averaged over five points per game in his last three contests. Tene has scored 16 total points in his last three contest. Prior to those three contests, Tene scored a total of 18 points in his last 11 contests.   

Lubbock Christian won the LSC Regular Season title and sits at 17-2 this season, but has lost two of their last three including a LSC Quarterfinals loss to St. Edward's last week, dropping them from the top seed in the region.

Parker Hicks leads the way for LCU with 16.7 points per game and 6.9 boards while Lloyd Daniels adds 15.4 points. Rowan Mackenzie adds 10.8 points per game and 2.9 assists per game while Aamer Muhammad comes in with 9.8 points off the bench.

Tip-off from the Rip Griffin Center is set for 5 p.m. and all the action can be followed on the Bison Radio Network. Follow @OBU_MBBall for all up-to-date information on the Bison basketball program.