ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball put up a tough fight against one of the top teams in the conference, but eventually fell 75-69 to Northwestern Oklahoma State at home on Thursday.
NWOSU (16-6, 11-5 GAC) entered the game ranked third in the latest Great American Conference standings, and Thursday's win was the seventh in a row for the Rangers.
Thursday's game was a physical contest that resulted in a combined 53 fouls and a combined 75 free-throw attempts.
The Tigers (5-17, 3-13 GAC) rallied from down 16 points with 12 minutes remaining in the second half to pull to within four with two minutes to go. The Rangers made five of their 33 made free throws down the stretch to keep the Tigers at bay.
Four Ouachita scorers ended up in double-digits, led by
Tylar Haynes and
Leon Kalinic with 17 points each. Haynes added a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Kalinic's 17 points tied a career-high that he set in November against St. Cloud State.
Jacob Street and
Deaveon Bankston also reached double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Ouachita is back in action on Saturday at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at Vining Arena.
