DURANT, Oklahoma – The Ouachita men's basketball team opened up its final Oklahoma road trip of the season with a 95-74 loss to first-place Southeastern Oklahoma State Thursday night.
Ouachita (6-13, 8-16 GAC) started off the game well, going toe-to-toe with first-place Southeastern Oklahoma (20-7, 16-3 GAC) to open the contest. The Tigers took a small lead over the Savage Storm after the first few minutes, but it was short lived. Southeastern retook the lead at the 14-minute mark and started to take control. Ouachita's deficit grew to double digits several minutes later; the Tigers did cut the lead back to single digits before halftime, but Southeastern pushed it back to 11 points in the final seconds of the half. The Tigers went into the break trailing 46-35.
The Tigers came out ready in the second half and quickly cut the Storm's lead to just two possessions within the first two minutes of play. Ouachita brought the score within five points twice early in the second half, but that was as close as it would get. Southeastern got back in a rhythm and pushed its lead back to double digits. Ouachita fell by the final score of 95-74.
Tylar Haynes earned himself a spot in the Ouachita history books tonight. His team-leading 22 points put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career as a Tiger. Haynes is the 17th Tiger to join the 1,000-point club. The 22 points were a season-high for the Memphis native. Haynes also led the team in blocks with two and tied for the team lead in rebounds with six.
Emorie Knox was next in scoring for the Tigers with 14 points, followed by
Terran Williams 13 to round out the Tigers in double figures. Williams also tied for the team lead in rebounds with Haynes and
Rollin Belton with six.
The Tigers will look to bounce back when they take on East Central University on Saturday, February 24 in Ada, Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
