BETHANY, Okla. – The nation's No. 1 defense made Oklahoma Baptist (12-12, 9-9 GAC) work for every basket as Southern Nazarene (21-3,17-1 GAC) limited the Bison to a 35.6% shooting clip en route to an 81-58 win inside the Sawyer Center on Monday night.
OBU couldn't establish an offensive rhythm tonight, posting one of its worst shooting performances this season with only four made three-pointers. Furthermore, the Bison committed 14 turnovers to SNU's 11.
Despite their shooting woes, the Bison competed in every other facet of the game. Oklahoma Baptist finished with two less points in the painted area (26-24) and brought down the same amount of rebounds as the opposition.
Unfortunately, the effort did not affect the final tally, as the Crimson Storm shot 47.2% from the field.
Ricky Brown started the game with a three-pointer, which would be the Bison's only lead of the game. Moments later, SNU's Nick Davis put in a free throw before knotting the contest at three-all.
Then a Crimson Storm layup provided a two-point cushion ahead of a D.J. Freeman dunk, tying the game again. OBU matched SNU once more, 14-14, at the 9:20 mark, but Southern Nazarene reclaimed the lead and never looked back.
By the halftime buzzer, Oklahoma Baptist trailed 30-24.
In the closing half, the Crimson Storm tightened its grip, holding OBU to a 36.7% field goal percentage.
Oklahoma Baptist cut its deficit to eight points (53-45) just under the 10-minute mark but proceeded to go scoreless over the next 5:25. Meanwhile, Southern Nazarene scored 15 points to lead 68-45 and pressed on to victory.
Joshua Udoumoh paced the Bison with 13 points and five rebounds, while D.J. Freeman scored 12. Ricky Brown brought down a career-high 10 rebounds, nearly recording a double-double with the addition of eight points.
Ethan Scott and Paul King round of the notables, scoring eight and seven points, respectively.
OBU turns their sights to part of this week's road trip as they'll travel to Southeast Arkansas to face Arkansas-Monticello on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
