SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (7-7, 4-4 GAC) hits the road for its longest road trip of the season tomorrow, traveling over state lines to face Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas. Thursday's game versus UAM will begin at 5 p.m., while Saturday's contest at SAU is set from a 3 p.m. tip off.
Coverage of the games will be provided by the Bison Sports Network with Todd Miller and Scott Wanish on the call.
OPENING TIP OFF
The Bison split last week's games against Arkansas Tech and Harding, falling 68-65 versus the Wonder Boys before defeating HU 84-60. Capping the action off with a win, OBU is tied for fifth in the Great American Conference standings alongside East Central and Henderson State. ATU sits atop the conference at 7-1 despite suffering its first GAC loss last week.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
Oklahoma Baptist nearly took down Arkansas Tech, who came into the game on a 10-game winning streak and unbeaten in Great American Conference play. A three-point prayer with five seconds left on the clock lifted the Wonder Boys over the Bison, following a Terry Coner Jr. jumper that tied the contest at 65-all.
The culprit was OBU's shooting woes in the game's final three minutes. The Bison scored five points to ATU's 11 during the span. Before then, the green and gold were up by as much as nine. It was OBU's third home loss by three points or less this season. The others, a 69-67 defeat against Minnesota Crookston (11/11/23) and a 84-83 loss versus East Central (12/6/23).
Nonetheless, Oklahoma Baptist got back on track with a 24-point, 84-60 win over Harding. It was the largest margin of victory against a conference opponent since a 79-55 (+24) triumph over Ouachita Baptist on Jan. 7, 2023. Since joining Division II, the Bison's greatest point differential against a GAC foe is 28 points (1/9/2020 - Harding).
DOUBLING UP
Junior forward Nathan Wilson collected his first double-double of the season against Harding, pairing a season-high 14 rebounds with 12 points in 26 minutes of work. Wilson's number of rebounds was two off his career-best (16 reb), notched a season ago while a member of South Georgia Technical College. Furthermore, the feat was the 11th double-double of his career.
Last week, Wilson averaged 10.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. He produced back-to-back games with double-digit rebounds, going for 10 boards versus Tech before charting another 14 against Harding. The last Bison to bring down that many rebounds in a two-game span was Ricky Brown last season. Brown collected 24 rebounds (ECU-14, SAU 10) in the final two games of 2022-23.
This season, Wilson has the third-most rebounds in the GAC (102), averaging 7.3 boards per game. He pulls down 2.7 offensive boards per contest, the third-best mark in the league, while averaging 6.9 points per game on 60.3 percent shooting. Additionally, the forward totals the third-most blocks in the GAC (13) to go along with 11 steals.
LIGHTING IT UP
Ricky Brown paced the Bison in scoring in the games against Arkansas Tech and Harding, putting up back-to-back 15-point performances (15.0/gm). Twenty-four of Brown's 30 points came from deep, as he netted eight triples at a 44.4 percent rate. In fact, he accounted for all but two of OBU's three-pointers last week. The figure boosted his season total to 34 threes (2.3/gm), fifth-most in the GAC.
The guard's outing versus HU was his third-straight game with 15 points or more, a feat he has never accomplished in his career. Three games back, Brown scored 25 points on 58.8 percent shooting at Henderson State.
The Valdosta, Ga., native is averaging a career-best 13.6 ppg while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor. He adds 12 steals, 58 rebounds, and the third-most assists on the team. Most notable, though, is his free throw shooting. Brown has one miss out of 19 attempts (.947), the best mark of any player on the team.
MATCH-UP HISTORY
Oklahoma Baptist trails both all-time series against this week's opponents, 7-8 (UAM) and 5-11 (SAU).
The Bison went 0-2 against the Boll Weevils in 2022-23, snapping a seven-game winning streak that spanned back to the 2018-19 season. OBU suffered an 82-64 loss the last time they traveled to Monticello. Ethan Scott did turn in a career-high game in points (17) after shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Wins at Southern Arkansas have never come easy, as the Bison hold a 1-6 record in its history inside the W.T. Watson Athletic Center. Last year's 76-74 buzzer-beating win over the Muleriders was the first in Magnolia since joining DII. In that game, aside from D.J. Freeman's game-winning tip-in, Ricky Brown turned in 16 points, while Joshua Udoumoh scored 10. However, SAU returned the favor in a 71-67 win in the quarterfinals of last season's GAC tournament.
In three career games versus SAU, Brown has averaged 13.0 points per game and shot 61.5 percent (16-26) from the field.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS MONTICELLO
UAM brings a 5-8 overall record with a 3-5 GAC mark into Thursday's game. The Boll Weevils are coming off an 85-69 loss against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Arkansas-Monticello is led by third-year head coach Chad Tapp. He owns a 191-203 overall record and a 26-43 tally with the Boll Weevils.
UAM scores just 63.7 points per game, the least in the GAC, while its defense allows the third-least amount of points (68.8). They are also one of the best rebounding squads, boasting the third-best rebounding margin (3.8) in the league.
The Boll Weevils are led offensively by the GAC's highest scorer, Isaac Jackson. Jackson averages 20.4 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor. He has reached double figures in all but one game this season and is coming off a 23-point outing at Southeastern Oklahoma State. He has collected 20-plus points four other times since starting conference play, including three games with 23 points. The do-it-all guard adds a team-high 62 rebounds (4.8/gm) and nine steals. Conversely, he has turned the ball over 36 times.
The other side of UAM's two-headed monster is junior guard Zane Nelson, whose average trails Jackson for the GAC's best scoring rate. Nelson shoots 43.4 percent from the field and has knocked down the most triples (23) on the team. He is just as lethal on the defensive side, as his 31 steals rank second in the league. However, Nelson's downfall is his 47 turnovers.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
Southern Arkansas is 5-9 this year with a 3-5 GAC record. They will face Southern Nazarene tomorrow before taking on the Bison on Saturday.
SAU's win over East Central last Saturday snapped a five-game skid, dating back to Dec. 17. The Muleriders shot right at 50.0 percent in the contest, a feat they only achieved once during their losing streak.
Southern Arkansas is scoring 70.1 points per game while shooting the worst field-goal percentage in the conference. Their woes extend out to the three-point line where they are firing 31.3 percent. Defensively, the Muleriders allow 71.1 ppg and are holding opponents to a 44.1 percent field goal mark.
Leading the offensive charge is junior guard Carel Ray Jr., who is averaging 16.9 points per game. He leads the GAC in rebounds (118), averaging 8.4 per game, and has tallied five double-doubles.
Senior guard Gregory Hammond Jr. trails with the second-best scoring average at 13.2 points per game to go along with a team-high in blocks (11).
