SHAWNEE – Behind a 22 point performance from senior Burke Putnam, the Oklahoma Baptist (12-6, 9-3 GAC) men's basketball team held off a second-half push from Ouachita Baptist (4-14, 2-10 GAC) to win 60-57 on Thursday night inside the Noble Complex.
Neither ball club shot the ball well tonight, as each finished under 44 percent from the field in a game that was 40 minutes of suffocating defense.
A combined 23 turnovers were forced between the two, with the Bison committing 13, as the Tigers held OBU two points shy of their lowest season total.
Despite OBU leading for over 92 percent of the contest, Ouachita Baptist never laid down and garnered most of their points through high percentage buckets, holding a 30-26 advantage in the paint over the Bison.
Oklahoma Baptist remained true to their craft, hustling to 14 second-chance points and outrebounding the Tigers 42-32.
Ouachita started the game by matching every point of the Bison and only trailed 9-7 after five minutes.
However, a Jaquan Simms three-pointer, his second of the half, silenced the Tigers bench and sparked a 16-4 run. Ouachita shot 2-of-17 during this span and went 0-for-7 from three-point range. Meanwhile, OBU netted two from deep and shot 50 percent.
The Bison would close out the half 3-of-4 from the field to lead 32-22 going into intermission.
Oklahoma Baptist remained hot, scoring 14 in the first five minutes after the break. Over the next eight minutes, Ouachita went 7-of-9 to trail 50-47 after a Marvin Williams-Dunn three-pointer.
The Tigers crept within one under the 1:00 mark, following a Ma'Darius Hobson jumper, but stifling defense in the game's dwindling moments gave the Bison their ninth conference victory.
Scoring was scarce on the Bison's side as Nigel Wilcox was the only other to chart double digits, finishing with 11. Wilcox added nine rebounds, an assist, and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Jaquan Simms cooled off after a fiery first quarter, totaling nine points with three triples. Teammates Harrison Stoddart and Brantly Thompson recorded their lowest totals of the season, finishing with two apiece. Thompson dished out a team-best six assists while Stoddart brought down eight rebounds.
D.J. Freeman rounds out the Bison's notables, concluding his night with six points and eight rebounds.
Ma'Darius Hobson led the Tigers in scoring, tallying 18, while Tylar Haynes finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Oklahoma Baptist will turnaround for the second contest of their five-game home slate on Saturday, against Henderson State (11-9, 9-8 GAC). Tip-off is schedule for 3:00 p.m.
