MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist took a one-point lead with a minute left in Saturday's contest at Southern Arkansas, but the Muleriders regained the advantage and defeated the Bison 68-65 inside the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
OBU (7-9, 4-6 GAC) nearly tied the game late, coming within a point with 10 seconds remaining following a Terry Coner Jr. made basket. However, a Bison foul on the next possession sent SAU's (7-9, 5-5 GAC) Anthony Igiede to the free throw line, where he sunk 2-of-2 to cement the win.
LEADERS
Three Bison reached double figures, led by Coner's 17 points in 33 minutes of work. Despite a tough shooting night, consisting of a 7-for-21 (33.3%) field goal mark, the guard dished out two assists and collected two steals.
Joshua Udoumoh turned in his highest scoring output of the season with 16 points on 60.0 percent (6-10) shooting. Udoumoh added five rebounds, two steals, and a block. Furthermore, he sunk a team-high (4) in free throws.
Trevin Wade scored 15 points and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. He also brought down six boards while charting three assists and two steals.
Nathan Wilson recorded a season-high in rebounds (15), including 13 on the defensive side. Additionally, Wilson scored two points and registered a couple of blocks.
FIRST HALF
Oklahoma Baptist shot just 30.0 percent from the floor in the inaugural stanza, netting nine of its 30 field goal attempts. Regardless of the eventual woes, OBU jumped to a four-point lead (8-4) four minutes into the game.
The Muleriders quickly retaliated, regaining the reins and going ahead by as much as seven (15-8) by the halfway mark of the half.
OBU slowly crept back into the game and tied it at 21-all with three minutes left. Still, a few more SAU buckets gave the home team a 26-21 lead at intermission.
Of note, both squads struggled to shoot the ball in the low-scoring half. SAU fired 34.3 percent from the floor, including a 2-for-14 mark from beyond the arc.
SECOND HALF
Both team's shooting abilities improved in the closing half. Oklahoma Baptist shot 47.1 percent while the Muleriders finished with a 52.0 percent field goal mark.
Perhaps the most glaring fact of the second half was that OBU forced eight turnovers while committing only one. In turn, Oklahoma Baptist benefited 12 points from SAU's turnovers.
OBU re-took the lead shortly after the stanza's start, but Southern Arkansas reclaimed the advantage and didn't look back. The opposition built a lead as large as eight (40-32) before the Bison made things interesting late.
NEXT UP
Oklahoma Baptist returns home to the Noble Complex to take on Southern Nazarene next Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m.
