ARKADELPHIA – Emorie Knox scored 39 points and tied two NCAA Division II records as the Ouachita men's basketball team took down cross-street rival Henderson State 91-85 Thursday night at Bill Vining Arena.
Ouachita (6-10, 4-7 GAC) opened the Battle of the Ravine slow, with Henderson State (6-10, 5-6 GAC) jumping out to a 6-0 lead after just two minutes. This was when the Tigers woke up, immediately answering back with a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game less than three minutes later. However, the Reddies got back in a rhythm, retaking the lead and pushing it out to nine points with 12:37 left in the half.
The Tigers weren't ready to quit yet, as they began to chip away at HSU's lead, and with five-and-a-half minutes left in the opening period, the Tigers took their first lead of the night on a Knox three-pointer. From there, Ouachita took control of the game, pushing its own lead out to nine points just before halftime to take a 39-30 lead into the break.
Ouachita kept the hot hands coming out of halftime, pushing its lead to double digits just 41 seconds into the second half. The Tigers led by as many as 14 points on three separate occasions in the second half. Henderson tried to cut into Ouachita's lead, bringing the score within four points twice, but the Tigers were able to answer the Reddies each time to keep the game just out of reach. Ouachita held on to its lead to secure a 91-85 Battle of the Ravine victory.
Emorie Knox was the game's leading scorer, dropping a career-high 39 points on 15-of-13 shooting. Knox was 10-for-10 beyond the arc in the win, tying an NCAA Division II and Great American Conference single-game record for consecutive three pointers made, which was last accomplished by fellow Tiger Lakee Westbrook against Harding in 2017. Going perfect from long distance also ties Knox for another DII record, as only one other person in Division II has ever recorded 100 percent three-point percentage with 10 made threes, as Rodney Edgerson of Kentucky Wesleyan also went 10-for-10 in 2007. Knox's 39 points are unofficially an NCAA-era school record, as the previous high was 38 points scored by Mitchell Bolding against Southeastern Oklahoma State in 1998. Knox is the first Tiger to score 30-plus points in a game since KD Smith scored 34 in 2019 against Southwestern Oklahoma State. The junior from South Carolina also handed out seven assists, which is the most by a Tiger in a single game this season.
Terran Williams was next in scoring with 23 points, followed by
MJ Leslie with 17.
Rollin Belton grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots to lead the team in those categories.
As a team, Ouachita shot 55.4 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range, while holding HSU to 46 percent shooting. The Tiger's 66.7 percent from long range is the team's highest single-game percentage since Ouachita shot 72.7 percent from three against Arkansas Tech in 2019.
The Tigers will look to stay hot as they travel to Searcy, Arkansas to take on the Bisons of Harding University on Saturday, January 27. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
