ARKADELPHIA – Head Coach
Dennis Nutt earned his 150
th win with the Tigers as the Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team outlasted Southwestern Oklahoma State University 69-68 Thursday night.
The Tigers (5-6, 3-4 GAC) started the game off slow, falling in a 5-0 hole behind SWOSU (6-7, 2-5 GAC) with their first three points of the night coming off of free throws. But a few three pointers from
LaQuan Butler Jr. and
Reggie Martin woke up the offense. The first half would be back and forth between the two teams. SWOSU would go on a 9-0 run between the 11 and seven minute marks, only to be followed by a 10-0 run by Ouachita to put the Tigers up by four with just under five minutes to play in the first half. The Tigers would keep close to that margin for the last four minutes, taking a 37-32 lead into the break.
The second half would prove similar to the first, both teams trading blows and leads. There would be a total of eight lead changes and four ties in the second half alone, with no lead for either side being more than five points at any moment. SWOSU would hold the largest lead of the half, five points, with just under three minutes remaining in the game.
Marvin Williams-Dunn began the turnaround with a three pointer with 2:19 left. The next points would be two crucial free throws from
Tylar Haynes with 1:39 remaining to tie the game at 65-65. 42 seconds later, Haynes would hit a jumper to give Ouachita a 67-65 lead with 57 seconds left. The Bulldogs answered with a three pointer of their own to retake the lead with 36 seconds left. But with just 16 seconds on the clock,
Ma'Darius Hobson hit the go-ahead jump shot to give the Tigers a one-point lead. Williams-Dunn then proceeded to block SWOSU's last-second attempt to seal a much-needed victory for the Tigers.
Leading the Tigers tonight was
LaQuan Butler Jr. with 22 points with 50 percent shooting from three. He was followed by
Tylar Haynes with 13 points on a 4-6 shooting performance.
Ma'Darius Hobson and
Reggie Martin were next with 12 points each on the night. Hobson would lead the Tigers in rebounds with seven and Butler Jr. would also lead in assists with six.
The Tigers will look to carry this momentum over into their next contest, which will be against the Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday, January 14 at Bill Vining Arena.
