FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Ouachita men's basketball program shot 60 percent in the second half to win their second consecutive game of the weekend against Midwestern State (Texas), 82-73 on Saturday night.

Ouachita (3-1) won the battle in the paint against Midwestern State (3-4) outscoring the Mustangs 32-26 in the post. The Tiger defense also forced 13 turnovers against the Mustangs.

Senior guard Mahlon Martin (Little Rock, Ark.) scored a career high 28 points against Midwestern State as a quartet of Tigers finished the night in double-figures. Forward Wesley Franklin (Frisco, Texas) added 11 points, while Trey Harris (Little Rock, Ark.) and Grant Jones (Glen Rose, Ark.) contributed 10-points each.

Four Mustangs finished the evening with double-digit scoring efforts. Bishop Coulter led the team with 19-points, Trae Jones added 14-points, D'Monta Harris contributed 11-points and Gilbert Thomas scored 10-points.

The opening half was a back-and-forth affair between the two squads as they traded baskets on almost every possession. If one team gained started to gain some momentum, the other team countered immediately with a run of their own. Franklin and Harris scored key buckets down the stretch to keep the game tied at 33 going into the halftime break.

At the 13:30, mark of the second half the game remained tied at 44. Martin then began to take the game over and individually went on an 8-3 run to put the Tigers up 52-47. The quick offensive spurt by Martin forced Midwestern State to call a timeout with 11:40 to go in the half to try to cool down Martin's hot hand.

On the next two possessions Harris and forward Isaiah Harper (Little Rock, Ark.) each connected on a three-pointer to give the Tigers an 11-point lead. Midwestern then responded with a 9-0 run and closed the gap to within a pair of points against the Tigers. Once again, Martin stepped up and knockdown shots in back-to-back possessions to give Ouachita a four point lead going into the under eight media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Franklin and Martin knockdown consecutive shots to propel the Tigers back to a 9-point advantage. Then sophomore guard Kendarious Smith (Conway, Ark.) got hot down the stretch and scored seven consecutive points for Ouachita. The Tigers knockdown free throws down the stretch to take home their second consecutive victory of the season.

Ouachita will return home this Thursday night to open up Great American Conference play against Arkansas Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with full coverage of the game being found on obutigers.com.