RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist (9-5, 6-2 GAC) capped its Arkansas road trip with a 77-74 victory over Arkansas Tech (8-6, 6-2 GAC) inside Tucker Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The Bison win their third consecutive game and improve to 6-2 in Great American Conference play.
OBU stumped a streaking Arkansas Tech squad that had won its third straight game Thursday night, besting nationally ranked Southern Nazarene.
Tonight, it was all about OBU as the squad grabbed an early lead and ran with it.
Paul King lit up the opposition for 21 points on 9-18 (50%) shooting. The crafty point-man knocked down a three-pointer, dished out three assists, and tallied a couple of rebounds to steer the Bison charge.
Ricky Brown had himself an afternoon, too, charting 17 points with only two missed baskets. Brown shot 6-8 from the floor, netted 2-3 from beyond the arc, and brought down a season-high eight rebounds.
Trey Doomes followed suit with 11 points, including a team-best 6-6 showing at the free throw line. Doomes added four boards and a team-high in assists (4).
Freshman Ethan Scott tallied nine points in just nine minutes of work, posting a 3-3 tally from deep.
In the absence of Nigel Wilcox for the second straight game, D.J. Freeman held down the painted area as he returned to the lineup from injury and produced eight points in 25 minutes of action.
King got the ball rolling with a jumper to tally OBU's first points of the game. However, the Wonder Boys responded with a 12-3 run to go up 12-5 with 14:55 left.
Oklahoma retaliated with a run of its own, scoring 11 points to ATU's four to knot the game at 16-all.
OBU built upon its good fortune as King scored nine of the Bison's last 22 points, sending Oklahoma Baptist into the locker room with a 38-28 lead.
King charted 13 points in the first half alone, nine in the last 10 minutes.
Arkansas Tech showed fight in the second half but could never reclaim the upper hand as the OBU advantage reached as far as 17.
More specifically, ATU was on the brink of making a comeback under the four-minute mark, as they trailed by just four, 65-61.
A few possessions later, a three-pointer put Tech within two, 68-66, setting up striking distance with 1:17 ticks remaining.
As he'd done all game, King came in clutch and hit a jumper to put OBU up three, 75-72. Free throws sealed the opposition's fate for a second game in a row as Doomes cashed in a couple to cement the victory.
Oklahoma Baptist returns to its home court next Thursday, Jan. 19, for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with Southwestern Oklahoma State (7-7, 3-5 GAC). OBU defeated the Bulldogs earlier this season 91-73 in Weatherford.
