SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team will begin an action-packed week of play with a stop in Arkadelphia for a Tuesday night matchup with Ouachita Baptist (3-9, 1-5 GAC). Initially scheduled for Jan. 1, the game was postponed and rescheduled due to COVID-19 complications within the Tigers' program.
Tuesday night's game will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two, with the Tigers maintaining a 16-15 series lead over the Bison.
The game will be streamed live on OBUTigers.com and heard on the Bison Sports Network featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary.
Oklahoma Baptist is coming off a commanding 83-62 victory over Harding, extending their winning streak to three, last Thursday in Shawnee. Four Bison reached double figures as the team knocked down a season-high 11 triples. Oklahoma Baptist finished shooting 43.7 percent from to field and scored over 80 points for the third-straight game. OBU notched their second-highest rebound total of the season as they out-rebounded the Bisons 47-31. The Bison also forced 15 turnovers, their third-most this year.
Senior forward Harrison Stoddart returned to the starting lineup last week after missing 10 games due to injury. Stoddart produced four points, four rebounds, and two steals in 22 minutes of action against Harding. The senior totals 1,236 points, averaging 10.9 PPG per game over his five-year Bison career. Stoddart has 144 career blocks, averaging 1.2 per game in his storied OBU tenure. He ranks No. 4 in the Oklahoma Baptist record books for career blocks, behind Charles Carter (2008-09), who racked up 178 blocks with the Bison. Stoddart ranks third in blocked shots, ninth in rebounds (567), and 17th in scoring on the all-time GAC charts.
Teammate Brantly Thompson has been no slouch either, averaging 11.0 PPG since he made his return three games back. Against Harding, Thompson knocked down a trio of triples, which he has done five times this season, en route to an 11-point performance. Thompson is the current active leader in points for OBU, totaling 1,252 career points. The senior passed Frank Benson (2005-06) on the all-time Bison charts for 23rd place following last week's outing. Thompson has 214 three-pointers in his career, placing him fourth in the OBU record books. He needs 31 threes to pass up Kyle Tolin's record of 244 in Bison history. As for all-time in the GAC, Thompson ranks 15th in scoring, eighth in three-pointers made, and is tied for fourth in total games played (117).
Ouachita enters Tuesday 3-9, including a 1-5 record in the Great American Conference. The Tigers rank eleventh in the league, garnering their first GAC win over Southwestern Oklahoma State last week.
The Tigers average 71.4 PPG, shooting at a 30.8 percent rate per game this season. They've allowed 77.6 PPG, ranking near the bottom in scoring defense in the GAC. Ouachita's offensive attack is headed by the sixth-ranked league scorer, junior guard Ma'Darius Hobson. Hobson averages 16.5 PPG at a 47.8 shooting clip and totals 20 steals, which is third in the conference. Senior guard Kendarious Smith completes OUA's double-digit scorers, averaging 12.9 PPG. Smith has only missed two free-throws, hitting 25-of-27 (92.6%) attempts this season for a second-place ranking in the conference.
Jacob Street has been on target from deep, recording a team-best 22 three-pointers. Street averages 7.9 PPG while Tylar Haynes has owned the painted area, collecting 9.5 PPG. Haynes leads his squad with 61 boards, averaging 5.1 per contest.
The Tigers are led by long-time head coach Dennis Nutt, who is in his 11th season with OUA. Nutt owns a 210-227 overall mark, including a 141-130 record at Ouachita Baptist, and is the second-winningest coach in the school's history.
