ARKADELPHIA – The final seconds proved to be the most vital as the Ouachita men's basketball team dropped its matchup with Southeastern Oklahoma State University by the score of 77-74 Saturday afternoon at Bill Vining Arena.
For the second straight game, Ouachita (5-10, 3-7 GAC) came out blazing, jumping out to a 13-2 lead over Southeastern (11-7, 7-3 GAC) over the first five minutes of the contest. The second-place Savage Storm began to warm up, cutting the Tigers' lead to just one point by the nine-minute mark. The Tigers kept the Storm at bay, holding onto the lead and continuously pushing it to two possessions. Southeastern made a shot with two seconds left in the first half to cut Ouachita's lead to two points. The Tigers went to the locker room up 38-36 at halftime.
SOSU tied the game to open the second half, but Ouachita quickly answered. After some back-and-forth from both sides, the Tigers pushed their lead out to nine points halfway through the second period. The Storm would not go away, going shot-for-shot with the Tigers, slowly chipping away at the lead. The game was tied at 72-72 with 1:06 left to play. A three with 26 seconds left gave Southeastern the lead. The Tigers brought it within one with 15 seconds left, but it was too late, and Ouachita dropped the game by the score of 77-74.
Offensively, the Tigers were led by
Terran Williams with 19 points.
MJ Leslie was next with 11, followed by
Rollin Belton and
Kobe Dunlap who each had 10 points.
Belton recorded his first double-double of the season, grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds to go with his 10 points.
Reggie Martin led all passers with six assists, a career high with Ouachita.
The Tigers will look to bounce back against cross-street rival Henderson State as they host the Reddies on Thursday, January 25 at Bill Vining Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
