SHAWNEE -- In a matchup worthy of its billing, No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist survived a furious second-half rally to edge No. 20 Ouachita, 69-67, Saturday afternoon at the Noble Complex.
For OBU, it's won 15 in a row, improved to 24-2 overall and clinched a Great American Conference Regular-Season Championship and top seed for the conference tournament in a couple of weeks.
OBU built its advantage early, using a dominant stretch midway through the first half to seize control. After leading by four at the 13:50 mark, the Bison erupted on a 23-11 run, fueled by second-chance points and paint production. A late three from
Jackson Greene pushed the margin to 40-27 at halftime.
Greene was the steady force all afternoon, pouring in 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting while adding five rebounds.
Terry Coner Jr. chipped in 17 points, and
Erik Madrid provided a spark inside with eight points and five boards. OBU finished with 42 points in the paint and 21 second-chance points, capitalizing on 16 offensive rebounds.
Ouachita (20-6, 16-4 GAC) refused to go quietly. Devon Hancock erupted for 30 points, including 11-of-14 at the free-throw line, and nearly willed the Tigers back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half. Behind Hancock and timely threes from Gavin Snyder, Ouachita trimmed the lead to one, 68-67, with just over a minute to play.
After
Joshua Udoumoh hit a free throw to make it 69-67, Ouachita had two chances to tie or win the game at the buzzer, but a contested jumper and a final three at the buzzer fell short.
By game's end, the Bison shot 48.3 percent from the field and improved to 12-0 at home this season. Next week, the green and gold will return to action at Northwestern on Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
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