ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The Ouachita Tigers dropped the final game of the regular season on Friday, losing to the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs, 81-74. With the loss, Ouachita drops to third in the Great American Conference.

Ouachita (16-12, 16-6 GAC) took the first lead of the contest on a three-pointer by Jordan Corbitt. After Southwestern Oklahoma State (17-11, 13-9 GAC) took its first lead, David Berete knocked down a three to give Ouachita an 8-7 lead. The Tigers would not net another three for the rest of the half, though, converting on just 2-9 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

With 5:25 to play in the first half, the Bulldogs took a 23-22 lead, and Southwestern held the lead until going into halftime ahead, 31-30. Berete led Ouachita with 13 points in the half, shooting 5-6 from the field. As a team, however, the Tigers netted just 38.7 percent of their field goals. Ouachita did outscore the Bulldogs 16-6 in the paint, though.

In the second half, Ouachita took back the lead after a fast-break dunk by Tirrell Brown that put the Tigers ahead 32-31. The second half featured eight lead changes, with SWOSU taking the lead for the final time with 14 minutes to play.

The Bulldogs eventually claimed their largest lead of 10 with 6:23 to play, but back-to-back buckets by Ouachita cut the deficit to 63-57. With 1:50 remaining in the contest, Justin McCleary connected on two free-throws to pull the Tigers within five, and then another free-throw by Berete cut Southwestern's lead to 67-63.

The Bulldogs were 14-14 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes, however, taking away any chance at a comeback from the Tigers.

Brown led all scorers with 20 points in the second half, and Lakee Westbrook followed with 11. The Tigers netted just 38.5 percent of their shots from the floor, including just 3-16 from three-point range. The Tigers did grab 11 offensive rebounds in the period, but it translated into only three second-chance points.

For the game, Brown scored a game-high 24 points. Berete followed with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Westbrook finished with 17 points. McCleary scored just five points in the loss but grabbed a career-high 10 boards.

The Tigers finish the regular season ranked third in the GAC. Ouachita will play as the third seed in the Great American Conference Tournament, beginning on Thursday, March 4, in Bartlesville, Okla.