SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (10-5, 7-2 GAC) picked up its fourth consecutive victory in dominant fashion, defeating the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (7-8, 3-6 GAC) 80-64 inside the Noble Complex on Thursday night.
The Bison sweep the regular-season series with Southwestern for the third season in a row, having not lost a game before the postseason versus SWOSU since 2020.
Sophomore D.J. Freeman recorded his first career double-double, coupling 19 points with 11 rebounds to lead OBU. Freeman missed just one shot, finishing the game with a team-best 7-8 (87.5%) showing from the field. Additionally, he tied for the most free throw makes (5-7) on the squad.
Four others reached double figures for Oklahoma Baptist, led by Trey Doomes' 14 points. Doomes nearly charted his second double-double of the season after pulling down nine boards. The senior stuffed the stat sheet, adding a game-high in assists (6) and two steals. Furthermore, he matched Freeman's total at the charity stripe (5-7).
Joshua Udoumoh tallied a career-high in points (12), while Bradley Akhile finished with 11 points. Akhile added five rebounds as Udoumoh went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
Rounding out the double-figure Bison was Ricky Brown, who went for 10 points of 4-6 shooting.
Oklahoma Baptist shot 51.9% from the field while limiting the Bulldogs to a 40.0% clip. The Bison had a fantastic performance at the free throw line, netting 20-25.
Southwestern came out of the gate on fire, starting the contest on a 7-0 run. Finally, Udoumoh knocked down a triple to tally OBU's first points and spark a 7-0 Bison run. The actions knotted the game seven-all at the 16:30 mark.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead and held on till Freeman made a layup to put the home team ahead 24-23. Then, the ball clubs exchanged advantages before a Udoumoh three-pointer sent OBU into the break with a 40-37 lead.
In the second, OBU stepped and kept its foot on the gas. Its largest reached to 16 after shutting every door of opportunity the Bulldogs attempted.
Oklahoma Baptist will close out its week on Saturday in Alva with a 3:00 p.m. contest against Northwestern Oklahoma State (6-7, 2-7 GAC). The Bison took down NWOSU in the season's previous battle 70-62.
