FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Ouachita Tiger men's basketball team survived a 21-12 run over the final four minutes of play to escape Fort Smith with a 77-72 victory over the University of Arkansas Fort Smith on Friday evening.

Five Tigers scored in double figures, senior guard Mahlon Martin (Little Rock, Ark.) once again led the team in scoring with 15 points. Fellow guards Trey Harris (Little Rock, Ark.) and Kendarious Smith (Conway, Ark.) added 12 points to the contest. Eric Brown (Greenville, Miss.) contributed 11 points and Wesley Franklin (Frisco, Texas) added an additional 10 points to the game.

Ouachita (2-1) shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and built a double-digit lead over Arkansas Fort Smith in the process. The Tigers defense shut down the Lions offense in first half holding Fort Smith to just 26 percent shooting in the opening frame.

David Ward and Chris Crawford carried the Lions offensively as the only two Fort Smith players to reach double-digit points. Ward finished with a game high 29 points, while Crawford contributed 24 points.

Throughout the opening half of play, the game remained tight with both teams scoring and both teams going on long draughts in between baskets. Ouachita was able to break away towards the end of the half with a 7-2 run over the final 3:20 of game time.

The second half appeared to be a runaway for the Tigers in the opening 10 minutes. Ouachita went on a 25-9 run to take a commanding 52-35 lead over Fort Smith. A few minutes later Franklin dunked the ball on a fast break opportunity and seemingly put an exclamation point on the game up 20 points.

However, the Lions stuck around and slowly chipped away at the Tigers lead. A 20 point lead soon became a 10 point lead and soon that lead would be dwindled down to just two points. Ward stepped to the line with a chance to tie the game with 26 seconds left; free throws appeared to be his lone weakness on the night as he missed both.

The Tigers hit free throws the rest of the way as Ouachita escaped with the win. The Tigers will play again tomorrow night against Midwestern State (Texas) at 5 p.m. in Fort Smith, Ark. For all the latest news on the Ouachita men's basketball team, log onto obutigers.com.