SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team (10-6, 7-3 GAC) returns to the hardwood tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. for a matchup against top-ranked Southern Nazarene (13-3 9-1 GAC). The contest kicks off a three-game homestand for the Bison, as Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello will make their way to Shawnee later this week.
The game will be called on the Bison Radio Network with play-by-play commentary from Todd Miller and color commentary from Scott Wanish. Fans can watch the contest on the Bison Sports Network with the pregame show beginning at the end of the women's game.
Monday marks the 114th all-time meeting between the programs. OBU holds a 65-48 record over Southern Nazarene.
LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma Baptist saw its four-game winning streak come to an end after suffering a 96-88 defeat to Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Despite shooting over 50% from the floor, the Bison conceded its second-most turnovers of the season while forcing 15. The stat allowed NWOSU to capitalize off the mistakes and post a 21-12 advantage in the points off turnovers category. Furthermore, OBU was outscored 48-24 in the paint.
Still, the Bison remained in striking distance late, but couldn't close the gap.
Guard
Ricky Brown led all scorers with 25 points, while
Paul King and
D.J. Freeman went for 15 and 14 points.
Trey Doomes also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.
SHARPSHOOTING
Ricky Brown has emerged as one of the best deep threats in the Great American Conference as his 31 makes lead OBU and rank 11th in the league. With a 40.8% mark from beyond the arc, Brown has the seventh-best shooting percentage of any GAC player with 70-plus three-point attempts in 2022-23. The guard has made a triple in three straight games, posting an astounding 11-16 (68.7%) three-point tally during the span.
On Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma State, Brown put on his best performance yet. Brown matched his career-high of seven threes versus the Rangers, scoring all but four of his 25 points from deep. He'd only netted as many triples in a game during his time at Valdosta State, as a 7-13 (53.8%) showing from beyond the arc paved the way for 26 points against Alabama Huntsville a season ago. He topped the shooting percentage yesterday with a 7-9 three-point tally. While with the Blazers, Brown had five games with five or more three-point makes. He already has three with 12 regular season games remaining in 2022-23.
His seven triples on Saturday were the most by a Bison since
Jaquan Simms charted eight against Harding on January 9, 2020. Brown had the next-closest mark of six, which he'd accomplished earlier this season against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
ON THE RISE
D.J. Freeman reached double figures in each game last week, scoring the second most points for OBU with an average of 16.5 ppg. He shot a scorching 80% (12-15) from the field and made 9-13 (69.2%) from the charity stripe. Additionally, he came down with the second-most rebounds, averaging 7.5 per game.
Freeman's week started with a 19-point performance against Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he added 11 rebounds to chart his first career double-double. The sophomore now totals 57 points in four career games versus the Bulldogs. Freeman paired the game with 14 points at Northwestern on 5-7 shooting. He added four boards and went 4-6 at the free-throw line to complete his stat sheet.
The Midwest City, Okla., native eclipsed his previous point total (167) from his inaugural campaign on Bison Hill yesterday. He totals 169 points this year and is averaging the third-most points on the team. His dominance extends to team leads in rebounds (91) and blocks (14), Freeman's blocks total is seventh-most in the GAC.
VALUABLE CONTRIBUTOR
Bradley Akhile's contributions last week were valuable, as the senior averaged 9.0 points on 53.8% shooting. He charted 18 total points, including 11 points in the win over SWOSU on Thursday. This season, Akhile averages 5.6 ppg, shooting 45.8% from the field, and has reached 10 or more points in the five games. OBU is 4-1 when Akhile scores in the double figures.
ALOT OF STOCK
The Bison seem to have SNU's number, having won six of the last nine meetings dating back to the 2019-20 season. Tomorrow's game has major implications on how the GAC standings will stack up as the season progresses.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
Southern Nazarene comes in as the top-ranked squad in the conference, boasting a 13-3 overall record with a 9-1 tally in GAC play. SNU has won 11 of its last 12 games, featuring an eight-game winning streak from 11/30/22 to 1/7/23.
SNU won their third consecutive contest on Saturday in a 67-51 defeat of East Central. The Crimson Storm held the Tigers to a 33.3% field-goal percentage and forced six turnovers. Southern Nazarene has not allowed a team to shoot above 40% during its most recent winning streak.
The squad was ranked No. 4 in the latest D2SIDA DII Men's Basketball Central Region rankings. SNU can move up in this week's edition and possibly garner national attention after tallying two wins a week ago.
Southern Nazarene has the No. 1 scoring defense in the country, allowing just 58.2 ppg. The Crimson Storm hold their opponents to 40.0% shooting clip per game and have the league's fourth-best opponent three-point field goal percentage mark (32.6%). The energy is matched offensively as a 41.0% mark from beyond the arc leads the GAC and ranks fourth in DII basketball.
Sharpshooter Tyler McGhie leads the offensive charge averaging the fourth-most points in the GAC (16.3 ppg). McGhie has the most three-pointers in the conference (47), netting 44.8% of his attempts. He has a triple in all but one game this season and six with four-plus makes.
Freshman Javon Jackson backs McGhie with a 15.1 scoring average that ranks No. 1 among all freshmen in the conference. Jackson shoots 48.0% from the floor and has the second-most threes on the team (31), making nearly 40% from deep. Adokiye Iyaye and Nick Davis round out the Crimson Storm in double figures at 13.5 and 11.8 ppg. Iyaye has a 46.9% field goal percentage in eight games, while Nick Davis has started every contest and ranks second in the GAC in rebounds (124). Additionally, Davis' 19 blocks are the sixth-most in the league.
