SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball (0-2, 0-0 GAC) returns home for two contests against Randall University and Southwestern Christian on Tuesday and Thursday.
OBU will host RU at 7 p.m. tonight and SCU on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. inside the Noble Complex.
Both contests will streamed on the Bison Sports Network with the play-by-play commentary of Todd Miller and Scott Wanish. The duo will also broadcast the games on the Bison Radio Network.
This will be the first-ever matchup between Randall and the Bison and the 12th meeting versus Southwestern Christian. The green and gold lead the all-time series 10-1 and have not faced the Eagles since 2015. That season, Oklahoma Baptist fell 78-74.
OBU began its 2022-23 campaign last weekend as hosts of the GAC/NSIC challenge, dropping two games against Minnesota Duluth (77-71) and Minnesota Crookston (69-67). It was the start of a seven-game home stretch in Shawnee.
Senior guard Ricky Brown led the Bison with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting against the then-ranked No. 12 Golden Eagles. The total was one point shy of tying his career best. Brown put in some key buckets during OBU's late run that nearly earned a lead, but it was to no avail.
Brown netted 6-of-9 attempts from three-point range, one make shy of his career-best (7). The Valdosta, Ga., native added an assist and two rebounds.
Brown turned around and poured in 17 points against Crookston, adding two more triples to his weekend total of eight. Brown averaged 21.0 points per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor, knocked down eight three-pointers per game (2nd in GAC), and finished 6-for-7 (.857) from the charity stripe in two outings.
Freshman Terry Coner Jr. put on a statement game versus Crookston, going for a team-high 24 points with a 9-for-11 showing at the free throw line (.818). It was the most points scored by a Bison rookie in the Division II era. Furthermore, his nine free throw makes was a tie for the most by a freshman in OBU's NCAA history.
Two others, Jarius Hicklen and Jordan Thompson, sunk nine freebies in their rookie campaigns. Additionally, Brantly Thompson and Hicklen held the program mark for the most points in a game as freshman (21 points).
Transfers Nathan Wilson and Jose Waring brought down 15 and 13 rebounds last week, respectively. Wilson averaged 7.5 boards per game and scored 7.0 points per contest. He currently leads the Great American Conference in rebounds per game and ranks third in total boards.
Waring's best game came against Duluth, where he coupled six points with seven rebounds. He also added two steals and an assist.
SCOUTING RANDALL
Randall brings a 2-3 overall record into Tuesday night, drawing its most recent loss against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (124-64). Prior to, RU notched two victories over Calvary University (95-86) and Barclay (99-82).
The Saints are led by third-year head coach Jesse Byrd. A season ago, RU posted a 4-22 record and ended their season on a nine-game losing streak.
Through five games, Braeson Barrs-Richardson is the Saints' highest scorer at 18.8 points per game. The freshman guard shoots 44.9 percent from the field and has sunk the team's most free throws (28-36). Kainan Ryan is up next at 10.2 points per game to go along with the team lead in rebounds (27).
Other key contributors include guards Eli Riley and Jordan Jones, who average 9.2 and 8.2 points per contest.
SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN
Southwestern Christian is looking for its first win after starting the season 0-2. Their two losses were handed by Oklahoma Wesleyan on two separate occasions. They are coming off an exhibition game against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, where they suffered a 112-68 defeat.
Senior Shawn Hopkins leads the Eagles in scoring (12.5), while Robert Chapman averages 9.5 points per contest. The duo both shoot over 56 percent from the floor, led by Chapman's 58.3 percent clip.
Ronald Moore pairs the team lead in rebounds (17) with a scoring average of 8.5 points per game. Furthermore, Moore adds the most assists (10).
Head coach Quinn Wooldridge returns for his fourth season at SCU, and first as head coach. Wooldridge is also the former head coach at OBU, where he led the Bison for three seasons (2015-2018) and turned in a 24-56 record.
A former outstanding Bison Basketball player and Hall of Famer, Wooldridge left Oklahoma Baptist as the third-leading scorer in program history (1,886 points). In four seasons, he helped OBU to a 124-24 (.838) record, two regular-season Sooner Athletic Conference titles, two SAC tournament titles, and two appearances at the national tournament.
He was inducted into the OBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. For further information on Wooldridge's Bison resume, click here.
