SHAWNEE – Fresh off a big win over Harding on Saturday, Oklahoma Baptist (12-10, 9-8 GAC) will make the short trip to Bethany tomorrow night for a 7:30 p.m matchup against top-ranked Southern Nazarene (20-3, 16-1 GAC) inside the Sawyer Center.
This will be second time the two ball clubs have met this season.
The game will be called on the Bison Radio Network featuring the play-by-play of Todd Miller and the color commentary of Scott Wanish.
DOUBLE FIGURE TERRITORY
Five different Bison scored in the double-figures during Saturday's 93-87 victory over Harding. It was the most points scored in a game and the third time OBU has had five double-digit scorers this season. The previous game-high of 91 points came against Southwestern Oklahoma State and MidAmerica Nazarene.
On the two other occasions where five players scored 10-plus points, the Bison won. The first happened against Washburn, when six eclipsed the threshold, led by D.J. Freeman's 18 points. Then in January against Southwestern Oklahoma State, again, Freeman paced a quintent with 19 points. Though a rarity, when Oklahoma Baptist has five score more than 10, the outcome is win.
CAREER WEEK
Three Bison reached career milestones last week. Trey Green became the 13th OBU hooper to play in 100 games, Nigel Wilcox notched a career-high in points (21), and Paul King recorded his first career double-double.
Wilcox and King poured in 21 and 16 points, respectively, in the Bison's win against HU. Wilcox's previous career best came against MidAmerica Nazarene when he went for 19 points on 63.6% shooting. His performance on Saturday pushed him to 521 career points on Bison Hill, to most of any active OBU player. Despite only playing in nine games this season, Wilcox averages 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Furthermore, he has the second most blocks on the team (10).
King dished out 10 assists for the first time in his career to go along with five rebounds. Earlier in the season against Washburn, the point guard flirted with a triple-double, tallying nine rebounds, nine assists, and 14 points. The act was the closest King had been to accomplishing the feat. King leads the team in and ranks in fifth in the GAC in scoring, averaging 16.4 ppg. Additionally, he has the chance to become the fourth Bison to record 100 assists in a season in the Division II era, needing just eight more. The most recent to reach the mark was Brantly Thompson, who registered 108 assists a season ago.
BIG TEST
Monday night presents a major test for the Bison as it'll kickoff a three-game road trip featuring Southern Nazarene, Arkansas-Monticello, and Southern Arkansas. All three have beaten Oklahoma Baptist. However, tomorrow's game is the biggest.
SNU is the 17th ranked team in the country and is riding a 10-game winning streak. A couple of weeks ago, the Crimson Storm defeated the Bison 80-66 inside the Noble Complex. Southern Nazarene shot just over 50% as they had four players reach double figures. Conversely, OBU finished shooting 47.1% from the field and committed 11 turnovers. Oklahoma Baptist needs to start the week on a good note in hopes of clinching a spot into the Great American Conference Tournament in a few weeks.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
As mentioned, Southern Nazarene enters Monday riding a 10-game winning streak. The Crimson Storm are one of the hottest teams in the DII, ranked fourth in latest D2SIDA Central Region Rankings with a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. SNU has won 13 straight inside the Sawyer Center, including an 11-0 record this season.
Nothing has changed since the two teams met in January, as SNU remains the No. 1 defense in the country. Southern Nazarene limits its opponents to just 56.9 points per contest. Their defensive effort paired with a 71.5 ppg scoring average, has afforded the 14th best scoring margin in the country.
SNU have been on point from beyond the arc, too, shooting the nation's second-best three-point percentage (42.4%). Before their win over Arkansas Tech on Saturday, Southern Nazarene had knocked down at least eight threes in nine straight games. The span was highlighted by 17 triples against Harding on Thursday.
Sophomore Tyler McGhie leads the team in scoring at 16.9 ppg, shooting 49.6% from the field. McGhie's efficiency extends to the three-point line where he has made the most triples (70) in the GAC at a 45.8% shooting clip. Freshman Javon Jackson backs McGhie at 15.5 points per game with a 48.4% field-goal percentage. Jackson is the team's leader in assists (52), averaging 2.2 per game, and steals (29).
Down low, Nick Davis has the most rebounds in the conference (167), averaging 7.3 per game, and is third on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg. The junior has scored in the double figures the last three games and has seven double-doubles in 2022-23.In only 14 games play this season, Adokiye Iyaye is averaging 10.2 ppg on 47.6% shooting. Iyaye, the GAC newcomer of the year a few seasons ago, has missed time due to injury. Point guard Xavier Bryant, who has also missed multiple games, has come back to and started nine contests. He has produced 7.0 ppg and 3.7 apg.
