ARKADEPHIA, Ark. – The Ouachita Tigers' men's basketball team lost in a barnburner to Arkansas Tech by a final score of 89-85. The loss placed the Tigers' record at 11-10 overall and 9-8 in the Great American Conference.
 
Arkansas Tech traveled to Arkadelphia with an seven-game win streak and had scored over 90 points in their past six games. The Tigers were able to compete with Tech for the entirety of the game, however they were unable to find a consistent stroke from behind the three-point arc. Despite a late comeback, the Tigers were unable to defeat their conference rivals.
 
The leading scorer for the Tigers was Justin McCleary with 22 points. McCleary also picked up eight rebounds and five assists. Jordan Corbitt scored 17 points for the Tigers, while Aitor Lopez-Breton scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.
 
The game started with a lot of points from both teams, including 10 early points from Mahlon Martin. The game close early until Tech went on a 10-2 run, resulting in their taking a 28-19 lead with just under nine minutes remaining. Ouachita then responded to their run by scoring seven straight points, resulting in a two-point ballgame. Tech built up a double-digit lead once again, which the maintained for the majority of the first half until Jordan Corbitt hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to cut the Wonder Boy lead to seven.
 
The Tigers were able to keep the game close for the entirety of the second half, but were never able to take the lead. The Tigers were only trailing by four points with one minute remaining in the game, as Aitor Lopez-Breton got an offensive rebound and layup. Despite two three-pointers from Lakee Westbrook and one from Justin McCleary in the final minute, Arkansas Tech was able to make enough free-throws to see the game out.
 
The Tigers will travel across the street on Monday, Feb. 13 to face Henderson State. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.