Bison Open GAC Tournament Play at Home Against Ouachita

SHAWNEE - The 2020-21 Western Division Champion and top-seeded Oklahoma Baptist Bison open up GAC Tournament play on Wednesday evening as they welcome in the No. 5 team in the East, the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, with a spot in Friday's semifinals on the line.

Wednesday's contest will be on the Bison Sports Network on the OBU YouTube channel featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary. The game will also be featured on the Bison Radio Network across the state of Oklahoma and worldwide on the iHeartRadio app. 

It will be the first meeting against an Arkansas school in the GAC for OBU as they have played their entire GAC season against the Oklahoma side, compiling a 14-4 overall record and a 14-3 mark in the GAC. The Bison come off completing a 4-0 sweep of Southwestern Oklahoma State with a thrilling 101-98 win for the Bison on Senior Day.

OBU has won 13 of its last 14 games and took home the GAC Western Division Championship, the first conference title for OBU since 2011-12. 

The Bison were honored by the GAC earlier this week as Jarius Hicklen and Brantly Thompson were named to the All-GAC First Team while Harrison Stoddart was named to the second team. Jason Eaker was named Coach of the Year.

OBU's offense has been on another level as of late, especially from behind the arc. OBU has made 10 or more 3-pointers in five of their last six games and have eclipsed 10 or more 3-pointers in nine games this season. The Bison are 8-1 this season when knocking down double digit 3-pointers as a team.

Rebounding continues to be key for OBU as they are 14-1 in games they have out rebounded their opponents while going 0-3 this season when rebounds are even or the opponent has out-rebounded the Bison. OBU had a season-high 48 rebounds in the win over SWOSU with a massive +17 advantage in the overtime win. The Bison are second in the GAC in total rebounds with 676.

Hicklen leads the Bison with 17.1 points per game and has been on a tear as he earned GAC Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season. In his last four games, Hicklen is 14 of 25 (56%) from behind the arc and has scored 20 or more in three of those contests, averaging 23.3 points per game. Hicklen set a new season high for the fourth time this season with 31 points to go with seven rebounds against SWOSU.

Stoddart adds 14.2 points per game to go with 7.9 rebounds per game and 25 blocks. Stoddart leads the GAC and is 14th in the country with seven double-doubles including four in his final five games as he has been unstoppable on the boards. Stoddart is 17th in the country in total blocks and has at least one block in five of his last six games including three against Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State. 

Thompson pours in 14.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per contest while Jaquan Simms adds 10.2 points per game and over three boards and assists. 

Freshman Jordan Thompson has been a key bench piece, averaging 8.7 points while the high flying Nigel Wilcox adds 7.8 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game, and 30 blocks on the year, which sits him eighth in the country. Thompson scored 17 against ECU last Thursday and followed that with 13 against SWOSU on Saturday. Trey Green leads the defense with 16 steals on the year to go with 4.9 points per game.

Ouachita comes in at 5-11 overall and 4-10 in the GAC as they played the most thrilling of the first round games on Monday night, defeating Arkansas Tech in Russellville, 70-69.

It is the first meeting between the Bison and Tigers since January 30, 2020 when Ouachita came into Noble and escaped with a 64-62 win over OBU. It was the Bison's only loss at home in the 2019-20 season. The two teams split their series on the season with OBU winning in Arkadelphia, 80-62.

The Tigers are led by Kendarious Smith with 15.9 points per game and 4.3 boards while Ma'Darius Hobson adds 9.9 points per game. DJ Kane adds 8.8 points per game and 2.9 assists per game while Deaveon Bankston adds 8.2 points per game to go with 5.4 boards.

Tip-off for the GAC Quarterfinal match-up is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Noble Complex.