ADA, Okla. – OBU's quest for the end-of-the-year conference tournament came to a close as a 75-63 defeat at the hands of East Central on Saturday afternoon in Ada cemented the Bison's fate.
ECU scored 50 points in the closing period and increased its shooting percentage from 39.1 to 66.7 percent to close out OBU. Meanwhile, the Bison nailed 48.2 percent of its attempts in the second half.
Oklahoma Baptist shot 38.2 percent on the day, its lowest field goal percentage in three games. However, OBU did net 12 free throws and sank nine triples while collecting 22 points off turnovers.
The Bison came into the contest red-hot, fresh off two consecutive victories, but East Central had other plans.
LEADERS
Terry Coner Jr. poured in 20 points on 53.8 percent (7-13) shooting in 30 minutes of action.
Ricky Brown and Nathan Wilson scored 14 and 10 points, respectively. Brown knocked down four threes, while Wilson was a rebound (9) shy of a double-double.
Trevin Wade recorded eight points and brought down four rebounds in his curtain call on Bison Hill.
FIRST HALF
Despite shooting just 26.9 percent from the floor in the first half, OBU grabbed an early 11-5 lead after nearly 10 minutes came off the clock. ECU fired 33.3 percent during the span.
The Bison lead got up to nine, 18-9, before the Tigers began to respond.
From then on, East Central outscored OBU 16-9 to eclipse the Bison and take a one-point, 25-24 advantage into the break.
SECOND HALF
ECU built its lead to nine by the 15:58 mark before Oklahoma Baptist came roaring back. A Wade layup brought the green and gold within two, 38-36, but the Tigers stayed in front.
OBU cut its deficit to a couple of points two more times, but it was no avail.
East Central shot 9-of-10 from the floor and netted 7-of-7 attempts at the charity stripe from 9:42 onward. Oklahoma Baptist fired a 46.6 field goal percentage during the stretch.
Oklahoma Baptist's 2023-24 campaign comes to a close with a 12-16 overall record and 9-13 tally in Great American Conference play.
