ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team dropped a Great American Conference home game to Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday by a final score of 81-65.

Southeastern (12-3, 7-2 GAC) controlled the majority of the game, holding the lead for just under 36 of the 40 minutes.

The game started out as a back-and-forth battle, including seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes. Ouachita's last lead came on a jumper from Leon Kalinic with 10:34 to go in the first half to the put the Tigers (4-13, 2-9 GAC) up 20-19. However, Ouachita was limited to just two points in the next seven minutes, which allowed the Savage Storm to go up by double-digits with three minutes remaining before half.
 

The Savage Storm led 42-32 at halftime, and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half, leading by as much as 17 in the first two minutes of the second. Ouachita made a run in the final five minutes to trim its deficit down to 10.

Ma'Darius Hobson and Alex Scariolo tied for the team-high in points with 15 each. Both were also productive on the glass with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Leon Kalinic also reached double-digits in scoring with 12 points off the bench.

The Tigers were originally scheduled to return to action this Saturday at home against East Central, but that game has been postponed due to COVID-19 management protocols for ECU. The new date for the game is to be determined. Ouachita hits the road next week to take on Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene.