SHAWNEE – Terry Coner Jr. returned to form and the Oklahoma Baptist Bison men's basketball team prevailed over Southwestern Oklahoma State 83-77 on Saturday at the Noble Complex.
With the win, OBU improved to 12-6 and 9-3 in the Great American Conference. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-9 and 5-7 in league play.
Coner Jr. scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting with four assists while
Nathan Wilson added 12 points, six boards and a block. Plus,
JC Curry contributed 11 points while
Daniel Ransom added 10 points and seven rebounds.
On this night, OBU didn't shoot well from beyond the arc, making just 24 percent, its second-lowest total of the season. That said, the Bison's two-point shooting was outstanding. The green and gold made 22-of-29, a 75.8 percent mark.
In the first half, the hosts got off to a great start, making 10-of-18. That helped OBU build a 24-17 lead about midway through the first stanza. After that, though, the Bison lost rhythm. Over the final 10 minutes, OBU made just four of its 14 attempts and watched as SWOSU came back to seize a 40-34 halftime lead. Denali Alexander led the visitors with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Down by six, the Bison eventually rallied back. At the 12:47 mark of the second, Wilson's two freebies tied the game at 48. Then a bit later, Coner Jr. pick-pocketed Tucker Shepherd and raced for a layup, moving the hosts ahead 58-51.
OBU held its lead until the final few moments when some turnovers and missed free throws allowed Southwestern to pull close. A Bison miscue with 50 seconds remaining led to a MJ Warrior three. That deep shot made the tally 79-77. Then after a Coner Jr., free throw make and miss, SWOSU had a three-point look go wide from Eli Al-Debaran which kept OBU ahead by three.
Once more though, the Bison missed two more free throws which led to another three-point attempt by SWOSU. That attempt from Jalyn Todd with five ticks remaining missed too and the Bison would hold on.
To cap things off, a clinic in breaking a full-court press was displayed by OBU which led to a Curry and-one conversion for the final score of 83-77.
Next on the schedule for the Bison is a Jan. 30 road date with Southern Arkansas.
