SHAWNEE – Seniors Jaquan Simms and Burke Putnam scored 26 and 24 points to steer Oklahoma Baptist (17-7, 14-4 GAC) to a dominating 73-65 win over Southern Nazarene (17-7, 12-6 GAC) on Monday night.
The Bison bounced back just like we expected. The ball club shot 49.1 percent from the field, overcoming their shooting percentage last weekend.
Conversely, SNU was no easy feat as they finished shooting 50 percent from the floor. Southern Nazarene won the first battle between the two back in January, but tonight was all about the Bison.
Specifically, it was the work of two individuals, Simms and Putnam.
The duo combined for 18 made field-goal fields and over two-thirds of OBU's total points. Furthermore, Putnam shot 71.4 percent while Simms finished at 61.5 percent, including five triples from the Georgia native.
Simms netted five three-pointers for the fourth time this season, as his point total was the second-highest of his Bison career. Meanwhile, Putnam entered the 20-point-plus club for the 13th time this season.
Southern Nazarene started the game on a 14-4 run, missing one shot through five attempts. Nine points came courtesy of Adokiye Iyaye as the Bison struggled through the first six minutes of the contest.
Oklahoma Baptist responded with an 11-4 stretch to draw within two, 17-15. The clubs went basket-for-basket over the next nine minutes as SNU prevailed with a 32-28 halftime advantage.
Out of the break, a Simms three-pointer brought the OBU deficit down to one, 32-31. Still, the Crimson Storm pressed on, denying Oklahoma Baptist each time they reached for the lead.
A Putnam turnaround jumper, 11:26 into the final stanza, gave OBU their first lead of the half. This would spark an 8-0 run, putting the Bison ahead 53-45 with 8:27 left.
The Oklahoma Baptist lead was confident until Xavier Bryant put in a layup with 43 seconds left, cutting the OBU advantage to seven.
The Bison would not chart another field-goal attempt as a 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe in the game's dwindling minutes sealed up tonight's victory.
Simms and Putnam were responsible for four of the free throws, as the duo combined for nine makes on the night. Simms also added a team-best three steals to go along with five rebounds.
Brantly Thompson brought down eight boards and dished out five assists en route to four points. Teammate Nigel Wilcox went for eight points while Harrison Stoddart totaled seven.
SNU's Tyler McGhie charted 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Adokiye Iyaye had 17, including four three-pointers.
Oklahoma Baptist will return to the hardwood on Thursday to host Arkansas-Monticello inside the Noble Complex at 7:30 p.m.
