SHAWNEE – It was a tale of two halves as Oklahoma Baptist (10-8, 7-5 GAC) fell into a hole after Southern Arkansas (14-4, 10-2 GAC) put on a three-point clinic in the first half before completing a 88-83 win inside the Noble Complex on Thursday night.
The Muleriders posted an 8-15 (53.3%) tally from beyond the arc in the opening stanza, while the Bison went 0-6. The shooting success opened a gap that Oklahoma Baptist couldn't overcome.
Despite its slow start, OBU finished the game with a 48.4% shooting percentage, highlighted by a 52.6% clip in the closing half. The Bison outscored SAU 52-44 in the second after recording just 31 points in the first.
However, the opposition never cooled off as the Muleriders made 14 field goals for a 53.8% mark from the floor.
Southern Arkansas took advantage of the absence of OBU starters Nigel Wilcox and Trey Doomes, as they owned the painted area all night. SAU outscored the Bison 38-28 in points in the paint and charted a 39-29 positive margin for rebounds.
After 10 minutes of action, OBU led 19-18. It would be the last lead change of the contest as SAU took the reins and never looked back.
The Muleriders went on to shoot 10-15 from the floor and hit six three-pointers to build a 44-31 cushion going into the half.
Oklahoma Baptist crept its way back within ten (48-38), three minutes into the final half, but the opposition kept hitting baskets.
Finally, the green and gold cut its margin to six with eight minutes remaining after Paul King hit a free throw. The action was to no avail as the Muleriders stretched the gap once more.
In a last-second effort, Ricky Brown netted a three-pointer to draw within five. Then Trey Green made a triple of his own to put OBU down by three with 11 seconds remaining.
Again, SAU slammed the door of opportunity, outlasting the Bison to victory.
King scored a game-high 31-points, the second time he has reached 30 points thi season. He added a team-leading seven assists and went 6-7 from the free-throw line.
Ethan Scott matched his career in points with another 12-point effort, highlighted by four triples. D.J. Freeman and Bradley Akhile scored 11 and 10 points, as Freeman denied three shots.
Green coupled seven points with a career-high in rebounds (9). He also poked away two steals and dished out an assist.
Oklahoma Baptist returns to the Noble Complex on Saturday for an afternoon matchup with Arkansas-Monticello. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
