ADA, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team bounced back from Thursday's loss in dominating fashion, taking down East Central and winning the Battle of the Tigers by a score of 76-68 Saturday afternoon.
The first half was back and forth for both teams, with there being a total of nine lead changes and six ties over the first 15 minutes of the game. East Central (10-9, 5-8 GAC) scored first, but Ouachita (9-8, 7-6 GAC) answered right back and took a lead on two good shots from
Ma'Darius Hobson. The two Tiger teams would go shot for shot over the next 13 minutes, with neither team gaining more than a two-possession lead until the 2:55 mark when Ouachita went up by seven on a three-pointer from
Kobe Dunlap. Ouachita led by as much as eight late in the first half, but ECU cut it a little closer to make a six-point Ouachita advantage at the halftime break.
The second half was all Ouachita, as the team never trailed throughout the rest of the game. ECU hung with Ouachita for a majority of the latter half, but the Tigers in purple came alive late, pushing their already three-possession lead all the way up to 18 points with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.. ECU tried to chip away at the Ouachita lead late, but it was not enough, and the purple Tigers held on to win 76-68 to get back above .500. Ouachita had one of its best shooting games of the season, shooting over 53 percent from the field, including 67 percent from three-point range in the second half.
Leading the way for Ouachita was
LaQuan Butler Jr. with 19 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arch. Closely behind was
Tylar Haynes, who recorded his second double double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Alex Scariolo and
Ma'Darius Hobson were next in scoring with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Ouachita will look to build on its momentum as it will host Oklahoma Baptist on February, 2 at Bill Vining Arena.
