ADA, Okla. – Oklahoma Baptist (20-8, 17-5 GAC) wrapped up the 2021-22 regular season in a convincing 76-58 win over East Central (11-17, 9-13 GAC) on Saturday night inside the Kerr Activities Center in Ada.
Today's victory marks the second time the Bison have tallied 20 wins in the regular season since joining Division II, having done so in 2019-20 (22). Additionally, OBU charted 17 conference victories, the most in the Division II era.
OBU locks up the No. 2 seed going into next week's conference tournament, where they'll kickoff the event against seven-seed Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for noon at the Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
The Bison swept the regular-season series with the Bulldogs, winning 79-67 in the first meeting and 67-62 in the finale.
Oklahoma Baptist earned their 20th victory in fashion, battling back after trailing going into the break with a 45-point second half. The Bison knocked down eight of their 11 triples in the second, marking the second consecutive game with 11 from behind the arc.
After the game's tip, OBU jumped out to a 14-5 advantage five minutes into play, highlighted by a couple of threes.
East Central responded, though, ripping off an 11-4 run to tie the ball game at 16. The Tiger's momentum carried them to nine more points, claiming the lead, 25-18.
ECU's lead would reach as far as eight, 30-22, before the Bison made quick work of their deficit to come within one.
Afterward, East Central went on a 6-2 stretch to end the inaugural half.
Out of the break, the Tigers continued to fire on all cylinders, extending their lead to eight after seven minutes of play. Then OBU found their rhythm, sparked by a Brantly Thompson three-pointer at the 13:29 mark.
The Bison proceeded to hit six more from downtown to seal up the contest and silence the Kerr Activities Center on ECU's senior night.
Oklahoma finished shooting 43.7 percent from the field, led by the duo of Thompson and Putnam, who tallied 14 apiece. Putnam brought down 10 boards to record his third double-double of the season.
Jaquan Simms and Justin Tene followed with 11 points apiece, a season-high for Tene. He finished 5-for-6 from the field and knocked down one three-pointer. Harrison Stoddart rounds up the Bison in double-digits, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.
ECU's AJ Ferguson Jr. led his squad with 19, while teammate Brennen Burns poured in 11.
