ALVA – Oklahoma Baptist University (16-8, 13-5 GAC) secured a hard-fought 98-87 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State (12-12, 9-9 GAC) on Saturday at Percefull Fieldhouse. A dominant second half fueled the Bison's win, with standout performances from
Terry Coner Jr. and
Ricky Brown leading the charge.
OBU's 98 points were a season-high as well.
The Bison were pretty efficient in the first half, hitting 51 percent overall and 44.4 percent from deep. And a late stretch saw the visitors build a 10-point advantage, 34-24, after two
JC Curry freebies. By halftime, OBU held a 40-34 lead.
Despite the Rangers' resilience, Oklahoma Baptist widened the gap in the second half with a 58-point explosion. The Bison capitalized at the free-throw line, converting 26-of-33 attempts (78.8%). OBU was especially efficient from beyond the arc, hitting 10-of-18 threes (55.6%). Coner Jr. was the catalyst, dropping 24 points while adding five assists.
Brown was lights-out from deep, knocking down four 3-pointers en route to 16 points.
Daniel Ransom controlled the boards, grabbing nine rebounds while adding 15 points. Curry contributed 14 points, going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, while
Nathan Wilson added nine points and eight rebounds.
Northwestern's comeback bid was led by Cam McDowell's 29 points, fueled by a remarkable 15-of-17 performance from the foul line. Max Alexander added 24 points and five assists, while DaRaun Clark hit five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points. However, the Rangers struggled from beyond the arc as a team, shooting just 6-of-27 (22.2).
Despite outscoring the Bison in fast break points (28-17) and points in the paint (46-36), Northwestern was unable to keep pace with Oklahoma Baptist's efficient offense down the stretch.
With the victory, Oklahoma Baptist secured a berth in next month's GAC Tournament. Next week, the Bison will head to Henderson State on Feb. 20.
