ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team held off a late rally by Harding to defeat the Bisons 85-83 Thursday night to extend its win streak to three.
The game started out close, with neither the Tigers (7-6, 5-4 GAC) nor the Bisons (5-10, 1-8 GAC) having more than a three-point lead during the first five minutes of the contest. Over the course of the first ten minutes of the first half, the lead would change nine times and be tied four times. Ouachita would take the lead on a three pointer from
Kobe Dunlap with 9:32 left in the half and hold that lead until the break. The Tigers' lead grew to seven points bythe 2:28 mark. The Bisons tried to close the gap to a single possession before the half, but a jumper from
Tylar Haynes with just one second left gave the Tigers a five-point advantage at halftime.
The Tigers came out in the second half hot, doubling their lead to 10 points over the six minutes. This is when Harding began to rally, as what was a double-digit lead for Ouachita was cut to just one point over the course of the next five minutes of the contest. The Bisons took a one-point lead with 7:11 left in the game, this was Harding's first lead since the 9:32 mark of the first half. After back-and-forth baskets, Ouachita took back the lead with just over four minutes left to play on a
Ma'Darius Hobson jumper in the paint. Some late free throws from Haynes and
Marvin Williams-Dunn and a layup from
Reggie Martin in the final two minutes sealed the victory for the Tigers, as they won their third-straight game, this one by a score of 85-83.
Tylar Haynes put on another incredible performance, leading the Tigers with 26 points. Haynes was just about as efficient as he could be tonight, as he missed just one shot, going 10-11 from the field, including 2-2 from three-point range and 4-4 at the free throw line. Haynes also picked up a team-leading eight rebounds and tied a season-high with three blocks while playing 35 of the game's 40 minutes. This was the first time in his career that Haynes has recorded back-to-back 20-plus point games (Haynes scored 27 in the Tiger's previous game).
Ma'Darius Hobson was next on the list of Tiger scorers, putting up 18 points with six rebounds. Followed by
Alex Scariolo with 16 points and
LaQuan Butler Jr. with 10.
With tonight's victory, the Tigers have swept the Bisons for the regular season and made it three straight wins against Harding.
The Tigers will look to extend their winning streak this weekend as they head to Russellville to take on the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys on Saturday, January 21.
