ALVA, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team fell to the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Rangers by a score of 75-70 Thursday night.
Ouachita (10-10, 8-8 GAC) started out hot, with
LaQuan Butler Jr. making back-to-back threes to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead against Northwestern (10-10, 6-4 GAC) in under a minute. The Tigers and NWOSU began going back and forth over the next seven minutes, with the Rangers getting an edge and tying the game up 15-15 with 12 minutes left in the first half. The game would be tied a total of five times in the first half, all coming between the 12 and five-minute marks. Despite the five ties, the Tigers never trailed in the first half, with their largest lead of the half being eight points with just 90 seconds until halftime. NWOSU cut the lead to three just before the buzzer and the Tigers went into the break up 38-35.
The second half on the game started out like the first, with the Tigers scoring first followed by both teams trading shots and keeping it close. Ouachita was able to push its lead back out to eight points on a layup from
Alex Scariolo, but NWOSU was quick to answer. The Tigers held onto their lead until NWOSU tied the game at 53-53 before taking their first lead of the game at the 10:35 mark. The Tigers tried to take back the lead, getting the score within one possession multiple times, but NWOSU was able to keep them at bay and the Rangers would hold their lead until the final buzzer.
Leading the Tigers was
Ma'Darius Hobson with 18 points on 8-14 shooting.
LaQuan Butler Jr. was right behind with 17 points of his own.
Tylar Haynes was next with 11 points to round out the top scorers for Ouachita.
Jared Adams was once again the Tiger rebound leader, grabbing 12 boards, which is the most of any Tiger this season. Adams also snagged two steals to tie with Butler for the team lead.
The Tigers will look to get back on track Saturday afternoon as they take on the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
