ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- Oklahoma Baptist earned a hard-fought 67–63 road victory over Ouachita on Thursday night at Bill Vining Arena, handing the Tigers just their third loss of the season and first league defeat in a key Great American Conference contest. The Bison improved to 13–2 overall and 7–2 in league play, while Ouachita slipped to 12–3 and 8–1.
The game was tight from the opening tip, featuring four ties and five lead changes. Ouachita held a slim 27–25 edge late in the first half before Oklahoma Baptist closed strong behind
Joshua Udoumoh, who knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds to give the Bison a 28–27 halftime lead.
OBU found its rhythm offensively in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field and controlling the paint during a decisive stretch midway through the period. A 12–2 run pushed the Bison advantage to nine points at 48–39 with just under 11 minutes remaining.
Seth Grandberry and
Erik Madrid sparked the surge, with Madrid providing a strong interior presence off the bench.
Ouachita refused to go away, trimming the deficit to one point in the final minute behind Devon Hancock and Crew Flowers. Hancock's jumper with 13 seconds left made it 64–63, but Oklahoma Baptist calmly sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Terry Coner Jr. knocked down a pair of clutch free throws in the final eight seconds to close out the contest.
Coner Jr. led all scorers with 22 points while adding five rebounds and three assists. Udoumoh finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Madrid chipped in 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Oklahoma Baptist converted 17 of 22 free throws and outscored Ouachita 27–6 in bench points.
Flowers paced Ouachita with 18 points, while Hancock added 17. Despite forcing 13 OBU turnovers and scoring 23 fast-break points, the Tigers shot just 35.1 percent from the field, a season low.
The win gives Oklahoma Baptist valuable momentum as the Bison continue conference play on the road on Jan. 17 at Henderson State. The Reddies were in a triple-overtime affair with Southern Nazarene at the time of this posting.
