SHAWNEE – A three-point basket from Arkansas Tech's Tommy Kamarad with five seconds remaining lifted Arkansas Tech (11-2, 7-0 GAC) to a 68-65 victory over Oklahoma Baptist (6-7, 3-4 GAC) on Thursday night inside the Noble Complex.
OBU had the Wonder Boys, who came into the game on a 10-game winning streak and unbeaten in Great American Conference play, shaking in their boots after leading for over half of the contest. The Bison even led by as much as nine in the second half, but it was to no effect.
Oklahoma Baptist netted one field goal in the game's last three minutes while the opposition finished on an 11-5 run. Still, OBU nearly tied ATU with a pull-up jumper from Terry Coner Jr. with 23 ticks remaining that would've forced overtime.
Nonetheless, the Bison suffered its fourth GAC loss and second-straight defeat at home by three points or less.
LEADERS
Ricky Brown and Joshua Udoumoh scored 15 and 13 points, respectively. Brown shot 5-for-10 from the floor, including a trio of threes, and went a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity strip. Meanwhile, Udoumoh sunk 57.1 percent of his attempts and tied his season-best mark at the free throw line (5-6).
Coner reached double figures, too, contributing 12 points behind six makes at the charity stripe. He added a team-high in steals (2) and two rebounds.
Nathan Wilson nearly collected a double-double with eight points and 10 boards. It was his second consecutive outing with eight or more rebounds.
Ransom charted eight points and nine boards, posting his third straight game with eight-plus rebounds. The forward also made both of his attempts from the free throw line.
Despite not scoring a field goal, Trevin Wade pulled down eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal. Teammate Efe Sekeroglu was also effective, claiming seven points (3-3 FG) and two boards in nine minutes of action.
FIRST HALF
Neither squad earned a lead larger than five in the opening stanza. Tech's came early on, following a basket from Cassius Brooks, to go up 7-2. ATU kept the advantage for another seven minutes before Udoumoh put the green and gold ahead 15-14 with 11 minutes left.
OBU sustained the lead until the break, fighting off the Wonder Boys till the score read 35-33.
Oklahoma Baptist's bench poured in 21 points, a 12-point advantage over Tech, and shot 43.8 percent for the half.
SECOND HALF
The Bison came out intermission on fire, pushing its lead to as much as nine (47-38) at the 18-minute mark.
ATU responded with a 9-1 sprint and tied the game at 47 points midway through the half. Despite multiple lead changes down the stretch, the Wonder Boys found a way to win late and stun the Bison at home.
NOTES
- OBU committed seven turnovers, a season-low total
- The Bison shot 72.0 percent from the free throw line, a tie of its fifth-best mark this year
- Oklahoma Baptist posted a 38.6 percent field goal clip, the worst since Nov. 30 (SWOSU)
NEXT UP
OBU turns to Saturday's contest versus Harding at 3:00 p.m. in Shawnee. HU suffered a 76-71 loss at Southern Nazarene tonight.
