RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Oklahoma Baptist (4-6, 4-6 GAC) led from start to finish and watched as
Carter Lowry drilled a 35-yard field goal as time expired to lift OBU to a 34-31 victory over Arkansas Tech at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium.
The Bison finished with 527 yards of total offense and controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes while improving to 4-6 overall and 4-6 in Great American Conference play.
Jason Ceniti turned in arguably the best offensive performance of the season, completing 26-of-35 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns while adding a game-high 139 rushing yards on 20 carries.
OBU struck first on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Ceniti to
Justin Pascone before Ceniti found
Haydn Thornton for a two-yard score at the end of the opening quarter, giving the Bison a 14-3 lead. After Arkansas Tech cut the deficit to four, Ceniti connected with
Jacob Trimble for a 27-yard shovel-pass touchdown and OBU carried a 21-17 advantage into halftime.
The Wonder Boys tied the game twice in the second half, first at 24-24 early in the fourth quarter and again at 31-31 with 5:12 remaining after a nine-yard touchdown run by Kollin Robinson.
Starting at its own 20-yard line with just over five minutes left, OBU engineered a 12-play, 63-yard drive. Ceniti converted multiple key first downs with both his arm and legs, helping move the Bison into field-goal range. After a final timeout with four seconds remaining, Lowry split the uprights from 35 yards to secure the victory.
Trimble led the receiving corps with 10 catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns, while
Nick Harris hauled in seven receptions for 171 yards. In the process, Harris became the fourth OBU receiver to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards.
Defensively,
Richard Smith recorded seven tackles, a sack, two tackles-for-loss, and forced the game's lone turnover, with
Jordan Garcia recovering a third-quarter fumble that helped preserve the Bison lead. That turnover proved consequential, as OBU maintained a 21-17 advantage after the forced fumble.
OBU will close its season next week with a Nov. 14 home game against Southern Nazarene. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Crain Family Stadium.
Â