ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – In a back and forth affair on senior day, Ouachita's defense came through in the final seconds in a 64-63 Tiger win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 9-11 in conference and will head into the final week of the regular season with possession of the #8 seed in the GAC standings.

In a game with crucial implications, the Tigers started with more urgency. Each time the Tigers held a comfortable lead in the first, though, SWOSU would claw back.

With under two to play the Tigers held a 62-58 lead. However, once again, SWOSU tied it up shortly after at 62. The Bulldogs had four opportunities to take the lead or tie in the last 30 seconds, but the Tiger defense clamped down to capture the one-point win.

Trey Harris led the Tigers with 19 points. Eric Brown added 13.

For SWOSU, Damion Thornton led the way with 20. Bralyn James contributed 16.

The Bulldogs and Tigers both came out with aggressive mindsets knowing the implications at hand. The two teams sat at 8-11 and on the bubble of the conference tournament.

The Tigers started fast with three straight buckets by seniors Trey Harris and Eric Brown. A quick 11-2 Tiger advantage set the stage for a solid offensive day.

SWOSU fought back into it and the dog fight was on. The Bulldogs cut it to one with around five to play, but the Tigers didn't let them get any closer in the first.

The Tigers went into half with a 33-28 lead.

Five minutes in to the second half the Bulldogs took a 40-39 lead. SWOSU began feeding Damion Thornton in the post and he became a one-man wrecking crew early in the second half.

Less than seven minutes in to the second half OBU lost a leading offensive threat as Kendarious Smith fouled out. Despite the loss, shortly after, the Tigers regained the momentum to take a 52-44 lead into the final stretch.

The Tigers kept its foot on the pedal and closed things out in an intense one-point win.

Ouachita improved to 12-13, 9-11 in conference play while Southwestern Oklahoma State dropped to 12-14, 8-12 in conference.

The Tigers next game will be Thursday Feb. 27 on the road against East Central University. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. To stay up to date on all things Tiger basketball, stay tuned to obutigers.com.