SHAWNEE – After finishing the regular season with 10 conference wins, Oklahoma Baptist (13-15, 10-12 GAC) earned a spot into the Great American Conference for the fifth straight year. The No. 7 seeded Bison are set to face off with the No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas (19-9, 15-7 GAC) on Thursday, March 2, at 2:15 p.m. inside Firelake Arena in Shawnee.
The game will be called on the Bison Radio Network featuring the play-by-play commentary of Todd Miller and color commentary of Scott Wanish. Fans can watch the contest on the GAC Sports Network.
THE TALE OF THE TEAMS
Tomorrow marks the 16th all-time meeting versus the Muleriders, with SAU leading the series with a 10-5 record. The teams split this season's series, as Southern Arkansas defeated OBU 88-83 at home on Jan. 25 before the Bison took down the Muleriders 76-74 in Magnolia on Feb. 18.
In the first meeting, SAU used a hot-shooting first half to build a gap OBU couldn't overcome. Southern Arkansas tallied eight three-point makes to the Bison's zero to lead 44-31 after the opening stanza. OBU responded with a 52-point second half, shooting 52.6 percent from the floor to come within three with 11 ticks left in the contest. Afterward, the opposition closed out the win. Three games back, Oklahoma Baptist beat SAU at their place for the first time in program history. It was the Muleriders' second loss at home all year. A buzzer-beating tip-in from D.J. Freeman lifted the Bison over SAU after the green and gold closed its deficit by shooting 7-11 (63.6%) over the last six minutes in the game.
Half-to-half scoring has been lopsided in the two contests. SAU has led the scoring in the first half 85-67, while OBU has outscored the Muleriders 92-77 in the closing stanza. Though the Bison are scoring above their season average (73.2 ppg) against Southern Arkansas, Oklahoma Baptist has to start fast while limiting the opportunities for SAU to strengthen their chances of victory.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Oklahoma Baptist holds a 4-4 record in the conference tournament since its first appearance in 2018-19. The Bison faced the Muleriders once during the span, falling 74-71 in the 2020-21 season. OBU reached the GAC semifinals every season before suffering their first defeat in the quarterfinals last year. Against first-round opponents, Oklahoma Baptist has outscored their opposition 320-302 (80.0-75.5 ppg).
Going up against higher seeding teams, the Bison have a record of 1-1. In 2018-19, OBU was the No. 3 seed and lost in the semifinals to No. 2 Southeastern Oklahoma State 87-68. The following postseason (2019-20), No. 4 seeded Oklahoma Baptist defeated top-ranked Southern Nazarene 77-61 to advance to its first GAC Championship game in program history.
SECOND HALF REVIVAL
After starting the season 9-5, the Bison posted a 4-10 record in the second part of the season. Multiple injuries have contributed to OBU's falloff, including the loss of the team's second-leading scorer, Trey Doomes. Still, players such like Freeman and Ricky Brown have stepped up to the plate. Freeman was the second leading scorer during the second-half stretch of the season, improving his average through the first 14 games from 11.3 ppg to 13.1 ppg. He scored a career-high in points (23) against Henderson State on Feb. 5 and collected a pair of double-doubles versus Ouachita Baptist and Southwestern Oklahoma. Furthermore, Freeman led OBU with 95 rebounds, 17 steals, and netted the second-most free throws (37).
Brown's minutes per game increased from 29.8 mpg to 32.7 mpg. The extra time allowed the guard to average in the double figures (10.4) and knock down the second-most threes (29) for Oklahoma Baptist. Brown reached double digits in points six times, including his second-highest total of the season at Northwestern Oklahoma State (25). In the contest, Brown tied his career-best total from range with seven three-pointers at a 77.9 clip. Additionally, Brown has only missed one free throw (10-11) and recorded the second-most rebounds (65). In fact, he grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against East Central a game ago.
Perhaps the most significant revival in production has come from freshman Ethan Scott. The guard saw his play time increase from 11.1 mpg to 18.8 mpg in the last 14 contests. He scored 8.5 ppg and put in the most three-pointers on the team (36), shooting a scorching 46.8 percent from deep. He had only made 18 threes before. The Mustang, Okla. native scored in the double figures four times, including career-highs of 17 points against UAM and ECU. Furthermore, he posted four games with at least four three-point makes.
Scott ended the regular season with the best three-point shooting percentage of any freshman in the GAC (44.3%) and the 12th most makes (57) of all league players, regardless of class.
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
Southern Arkansas finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record and a 15-7 mark in GAC play. SAU ended the year on a two-game winning streak, highlighted by an 85-83 overtime victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday.
The win gave the Muleriders the league's No. 2 seed in the tournament and matched the program's single-season wins record in the NCAA era. The second-place finish in the GAC regular season is the highest for the Muleriders in its 12-year membership in the conference and surpasses the previous-best finish of tied for third in 2014-15. The 15 league wins are the most for Southern Arkansas in its DII era and the most for a Mulerider team since the 1989-90 season.
Southern Arkansas is the second-highest scoring team in the league at 77.3 ppg. Their three-point success had been their bread and butter, netting the second-most triples per game in the league (9.4). SAU also pulls down the most rebounds in the GAC per contest (37.6), allowing many second-chance opportunities. Conversely, they allow the sixth-most points in the GAC (66.8 ppg).
Junior guard Gregory Hammond Jr. leads the team in scoring at 12.7 ppg, shooting 45.4 percent from the field. He adds the most blocks (23) and the second-most three-point makes (51) for SAU. Forward LaTreavin Black averages 11.2 ppg and totals the second most rebounds in the conference (212). Black has seven games with 10 or more blocks this season and is riding a four-game streak of eight-plus boards.
The trio of Carel Ray Jr., Blake Rogers, and Kris Wyche average over 10.0 ppg. Ray Jr. steers the group with a 10.8 ppg average and the second-most blocks on the squad. Rogers and Wyche have shot lights from the range, as Wyche's 68 makes rank eighth in the GAC. The Muleriders have also seen quality production from guards Jerry Carraway Jr. and Brock Schreiner, who average 8.9 and 5.8 ppg.
