CANYON, Texas – Oklahoma Baptist (2-3, 0-0 GAC) concluded its non-conference slate in a 67-56 loss to #25 West Texas A&M (2-2, 0-0 LSC) on Saturday afternoon inside the First United Bank Center in Canyon.
OBU began on a high note, building a 10-point lead, 17-7. The Bison would see its lead reach as high as 11 with 10 minutes remaining, but the Buffs battled back and trailed by four at the four-minute mark.
West Texas fought back to claim its first lead of the contest, 28-26, and made play after play to take a 34-28 advantage into the break. Despite its shooting woes late, OBU posted a better field goal percentage (43.5%) than the opposition (35.5%). But, the Buffs' bench scoring margin, which read 14-3, aided WT's momentum to overtake the lead in the inaugural stanza.
The Buffs carried its good fortune into the second half, taking its lead to as high as 16. Again, OBU had the better field goal percentage (40.7%-35.5%) but didn't make the necessary buckets to rid the game's advantage of WT's grasp.
For the contest, OBU finished with a 42.0 percent shooting clip. Neither squad shot well from beyond the arc, as both finished under 26 percent. The largest discrepancy came in second-chance points as the Buffs stampeded to a 17-4 advantage. The Bison's most significant statistical win came inside the paint, with the stat sheet pointing to a 28-24 margin.
The pair of D.J. Freeman and Paul King were the Bison's high scorers, finishing with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Freeman added two steals and five boards, while King registered a game-high in assists.
Bradley Akhile added seven points with five boards, while Ricky Brown turned in a nine-point showing.
Trey Doomes scored five points en route to a career-high in steals (4) and one block.
Other notables were Trey Green's game-high in rebounds (7) to go along with three points and Caleb Riggs' four points on two shot attempts.
Oklahoma Baptist returns to the Sooner state on Thursday, Dec. 1, to take on the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State (3-2, 0-0 GAC) in the 2022-23 conference opener in Weatherford. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
