ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Tigers and Savage Storm went toe-to-toe in an overtime thriller, but Southeastern Oklahoma State sent Ouachita Baptist home with a broken heart 90-83.
The Tigers took over in the second half on a 13-2 run that spanned three minutes, however Southeastern never went away. At 75-74 Kendarious Smith knocked down two free throws to give the Tigers a 77-74 lead. However, the Savage Storm drove down the court and Adam Dworsky banked in a three pointer with a tenth of a second left to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Southeastern took the momentum and rolled with it sending the Tigers home in what was Ouachita's most explosive outing of the season.
Ouachita jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but it quickly evaporated as Southeastern took control and held the lead for the remainder of the first half. Southeastern went on a 7-0 run that spanned four minutes, but the Tigers closed the gap as the half ended. Trey Harris knocked down a buzzer beating three-pointer to send the Tigers into half down 35-32.
Allie Freeman would set the tone for the Tigers in the second half as he tied it up at 35 on a deep three less than a minute in. Southeastern would regain the lead, but about five minutes into the second half, the Tigers took off. Ouachita's 13-2 run over three minutes energized the home crowd.
In the end, Southeastern's late momentum proved to be too much for Ouachita to overcome in overtime.
Allie Freeman led the Tigers with 21 points, shooting 5-8 from deep. Trey Harris scored 18 and Kendarious Smith contributed with 13.
Kevin Buckingham led the Savage Storm with 23 points. Kayo Goncalves added 22 of his own and Adam Dworsky scored 19 and had the biggest bucket of the game.
Ouachita fell to 7-9, 4-7 in conference play, while Southeastern Oklahoma State improved to 15-3, 8-3 in conference.
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 at home against East Central University. The game will start at 3 p.m. To stay up to date on all things Tiger basketball, stay tuned to obutigers.com.
