SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team (13-6, 10-3 GAC) earned their second consecutive win on Saturday, besting Henderson State (11-8, 7-6 GAC) 90-81 inside the Noble Complex. The Bison take the regular-season series between the two ball clubs with today's victory.
Brantly Thompson caught fire late, scoring 23 points in the second half alone, including five three-pointers. Thompson breaks his single-game career-best of 26 points, recorded earlier this season against Minnesota State-Moorhead, as he torched the Reddies to the tune of 28 points.
The senior netted six triples, tying his career-best, which he did twice in the 2020-21 season.
Four Bison reached double figures as OBU held off a talented HSU squad late after the Reddies charted a 46-point second half.
Oklahoma Baptist shot a season-high 53.6 percent from the field, including a 47.6 shooting clip from deep. The Bison knocked down 10 three-pointers, one shy of tying their season-high from beyond the arc.
Six minutes into the contest, the Bison were up 10-9, following a Harrison Stoddart three-pointer. The action kick started a 15-4 OBU stretch, giving the good guys a 22-13 advantage. Reserve Justin Tene poured in six points during this run, as Oklahoma Baptist collectively shot 6-of-8 from the floor.
Henderson State battled back over the next four minutes, closing their deficit to 28-24 after scoring 11 points over the span.
OBU sustained control until the half's end, despite a Quawn Marshall bucket at the horn, to lead 39-35 going into intermission.
Out of the break, HSU made things interesting. Six minutes into the half, Henderson State closed their gap to three after a couple of significant stops on the defensive side.
Shortly after, the Reddies were down by one, 60-59, after a made free-throw. Then Thompson made an appearance. After scoring five in the first half, the senior began his second-half onslaught with a triple at the 8:36 mark.
He finished the remainder of the contest with 19 points, hitting five triples and nearly outscoring the Reddies over his dynamic stretch.
Thompson's career night also included zero stops at the free-throw line, making his performance that much more impressive.
Teammate Harrison Stoddart followed up with 16 points, brought down six boards, and netted three from downtown.
Burke Putnam poured in 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and dished out five assists. Nigel Wilcox finished with 11 as he showed the Bison faithful the progress of his jump shot, knocking down back-to-back from around the painted area in the contest.
Justin Tene and D.J. Freeman were terrific off the bench, scoring eight and six points. Tene made several defensive plays while Freeman shocked the Reddies with two huge blocks.
Franck Kamgain led Henderson with 17 points, while big man Tomislav Miholjcic scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Alvin Miles matched Kamgain's point total, nailing seven from the charity stripe to round out HSU's double-digit scorers.
Oklahoma Baptist will return to play next Thursday as they'll host rival Southern Nazarene inside the Noble Complex. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
