SHAWNEE – The Arkansas Tech Wonderboys (7-13, 4-10 GAC) waltzed into the Noble Complex and gave the top-ranked Bison (16-6, 13-3 GAC) everything they could handle. Fortunately, the more experienced squad prevailed at the end as OBU earned their fourth straight triumph, winning 80-73 on Monday.
Tonight was the first of back-to-back meetings with Arkansas Tech as Oklahoma Baptist hits the road to Russellville on Thursday for a series-ending matchup.
Both teams shot excellent in the first half, namely Arkansas Tech, who nailed 18-of-26 (69.2%) from the field and knocked down five from deep. The Bison hit 14 of their 22 attempts for a 63.6% shooting clip and tallied four from beyond the arc.
ATU missed one shot through five minutes of play, leading 14-12 early on.
Then the Bison went cold as the Wonderboys mounted an 11-5 run that lasted 4:25, earning themselves a 25-15 advantage. OBU made 2-of-5 from the field in the stretch while Tech missed one of their attempts.
ATU's good fortune continued as they built their largest lead of the half at 32-20 with 6:25 left. In the remaining minutes, Oklahoma Baptist responded and tallied a perfect 6-for-6 to cut their deficit to three with seven seconds left. Harrison Stoddart highlighted this run with six points off two major triples.
Arkansas Tech rushed down the court following a Bison free-throw for a desperate attempt before the half, but D.J. Freeman denied the would-be layup as the buzzer sounded. OBU trailed 43-40 going into intermission.
Oklahoma Baptist threatened but could not overcome the Wonderboy lead through the early parts of the final stanza. With 7:54 left, ATU led 65-58, their largest advantage of the half. The Bison comeback would start as Putnam directed a 13-6 stretch, ending with a 71-69 OBU lead.
The Bison piled onto their second-half positives, ending the game on an 11-4 run.
Putnam finished with 30 points, his second-highest point total of the season, on a staggering 10-of-14 shooting. He often visited the charity stripe, drawing nine fouls and hitting 9-of-13 from the line.
Teammate Nigel Wilcox poured in 13 points and four rebounds while Stoddart added 10. Stoddart recorded a team-best two from deep while shooting 4-of-6 from the field.
Brantly Thompson dished out six assists en route to nine points while Trace Boiling posted valuable reserve minutes with five points. Justin Tene came in and hit 3-of-4, finishing with six total points.
Tech's Niko Gosnell scored 26 while Cam Kennedy added 19. Tony Hall's 17 rounds up the Wonderboys in double figures.
