LITTLE ROCK – The Ouachita men's basketball team earned its first win of the season with an 81-76 victory over the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday night to close out the 2024 GAC/MIAA Conference Challenge.
Ouachita (1-1, 0-0 GAC) struck first in the Saturday night non-conference match up thanks to a layup by
Hobert Grayson 15 seconds in. Arkansas-Fort Smith (1-1, 0-0 MIAA) answered back to tie it up. From there, it was all Tigers. The swing started with a 6-0 run and was followed by a 7-0 run that put the Tigers up by double digits for the first time with just under 15 left to play in the first. Ouachita kept its foot on the gas and led by as many as 17 points in the opening half. The Lions cut the lead back down to single digits by the break as the Tigers went into halftime leading 37-29.
The Tigers went back and forth with the Lions over the first several minutes of the second half, with Ouachita trying to regain and keep its double-digit lead. The Tigers led by as much as 16 points in the second half and did a good job of keeping UAFS at least three possessions away for most of the half. However, the Lions started to chip away at the Tiger lead again late and brought it within six points with 53 seconds left of the clock and then within two points with just 17 seconds left in the game. One free throw from
PJ Neal and two from Grayson sealed Ouachita's first victory of the 2024-25 season with the final score of 81-76,
Shaun Williams led the Tigers with 22 points on almost 54 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.
Hobert Grayson was next with 18 points, followed by
MJ Leslie with 11 to round out the Tigers in double-figures.
Grayson led the lead in rebounds with eight, with
Devyn Franklin close behind with six.
Reggie Martin handed out four assists for the team lead, with
PJ Neal and
Gavin Snyder tied for next with three each.
The Tigers will look to keep up the success when they host Dallas Christian on Thursday, November 14 at 7 p.m. in Vining Arena for the 2024 home opener.
