BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The eighth seed Ouachita Tigers went wire to wire with Southern Nazarene but fall in overtime 75-72.
Senior Matthew Ward led the Tigers with 17 points going 5-10 from behind the three-point line and putting in five rebounds. Morris Talbert added 13 points off of the bench while Matt Stanley put in 12 points and six rebounds.
The game started with the Tigers allowing the Savage Storm to take the 8-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Ouachita would respond by going on a 9-0 run led by Matthew Ward's two threes. The Tigers would lose the lead but take it back at the 10:43 mark on a Morris Talbert triple at 16-15. At the 3:00 mark the Tigers would go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead back to a point at 30-29. However, the Savage Storm would end the half on 6-0 run to take the 37-30 lead at the half.
In the second half the Tigers would go on a 10-2 run that was highlighted by a Kendarious Smith layup, foul and free throw shot. Ouachita would take their biggest lead of the game at eight points off a 11-2 run that was capped off by a Morris Talbert three pointer. Allie Freeman would turn on the jets and get fouled on a fast break layup making both free throws to extend the lead back to seven at 55-48 with 10:04 left in the game. The Tigers would allow Southern Nazarene to come back and take a 60-55 lead with 3:42 left in the matchup. The Tigers would continue to battle but would fall behind again by five with 41 seconds left in the game. The Tigers would never quit as they would tie the game on a Mahlon Martin three with 10 seconds left after a rebound was tapped out to him by Allie Freeman.
The Tigers would build out a four-point lead in Overtime as free throws by Wesley Franklin and Morris Talbert were made and then Matthew Ward put in a corner three. The Savage Storm would take a one-point lead with nine seconds left in the game. Ouachita would have a change to take the lead but would turn the ball over twice in the final seconds to fall in the game 75-72.
Quick Facts
• The Tigers out shot 41.7% behind the three point line compared to SNU's 13.6%.
• Ouachita scored 19 points off of the Savage Storm's 11 turnovers.
• The Tigers scored 33 bench points which doubled the Storm's 16 points.
• There were 10 ties and 17 lead changed in the game.
• The rebound battle was tied at 44 with each teams putting in 12 offensive and 32 defensive.
The Tigers end their season with a second team All-GAC member, an Elite Scholar Athlete and a record of 14-13 goof for eighth place in the Great American Conference standings.
