MONTICELLO, Ark. – Senior
Daniel Ransom scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half as the Oklahoma Baptist Bison rallied from a seven-point deficit to defeat Arkansas-Monticello 75-70 on Saturday at Steelman Fieldhouse.
With the win, OBU improved to 13-7 and 10-4 in the Great American Conference. With eight regular-season games left, the Bison hold the second-place spot in the GAC with a Feb. 6 date against Harding at the Noble Complex coming next.
In addition to Ransom,
JC Curry turned in a solid performance with 20 points. He made six field goals and sunk six freebies to go along with three rebounds. Plus,
Ethan Scott,
Terry Coner Jr., and
Ricky Brown all contributed at least eight points. As a team, OBU was 21-of-25 at the foul line as well, an 84-percent mark.
Saturday's game was highly contested, featuring five ties and nine lead changes.
During the first half, UAM led for more than 12 minutes of action before the Bison found some late rhythm. With the Weevils ahead 21-18, Scott buried a three at 7:08 and tied the contest. A couple possessions later, Ransom converted an and-one along the left side and with that, boosted OBU ahead 24-21. That advantage held over the final five minutes of the first and when the Bison entered the locker room at the break, they led 28-27.
The scoreboard went back and forth in the second half, too. In fact, Arkansas-Monticello went back in front by seven, 43-36, with 11:59 left following Alex Brogdon's three-pointer from the right side.
Over the next three minutes and change, OBU clawed back and after a Ransom steal, Brown converted a layup on a back-door pass from Coner Jr., to push the green and gold back up, 49-48.
The game's final sequence, which pushed the Bison ahead for good, came in the final four minutes. With UAM down 61-59, OBU scored eight of the next 10 points and after an and-one conversion by Coner Jr., the visitors went up eight, 69-61 with just under three minutes remaining. Ransom had two 3-pointers in that stretch as well to give OBU the necessary cushion for victory.
OBU's next game against Harding will be the second matchup this season. Back on Jan. 11, the Bison won in Searcy, 74-70.
