MONTICELLO, Arkansas – The Ouachita men's basketball team wrapped up its 2024 season with a 65-54 loss to the University of Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils Saturday afternoon.
Ouachita (8-19, 6-16 GAC) got off to a slow start, falling behind Arkansas-Monticello (13-14, 11-11 GAC) 8-0 over the first four minutes of the contest. It was actually a slow start for both sides as neither side hit double figures until UAM scored its tenth point just after the 15-minute mark. The Tigers cut the Weevils' lead to a single point twice in the middle of the first half. Ouachita took a one-point lead with four-and-a-half minutes left. The two teams traded single-possession leads over the final four minutes of the first half, but UAM put together a 4-0 run to close out the half and Ouachita went into the break trailing 26-22.
Monticello came out of halftime ready to go and pushed its lead to double digits after five minutes of action. The Tigers got back into a rhythm and cut the deficit down to a single digit by the eight-minute mark. However, UAM found its groove again and took control, expanding its lead back to double digits and keeping it there over the final minutes. The Tigers dropped their season finale by the final score of 65-54.
In his final game as a Tiger,
Tylar Haynes led the team in scoring and rebounding, recording a double-double with 20 points on 7-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. This was Haynes' fourth double-double of the season. Haynes finishes his Ouachita career with 1,057 points scored, making him the 17th Tiger to join the 1000-point club.
MJ Leslie was second on the team in scoring with 12 points, all coming from three-point range.
Ouachita finishes its season with an overall record of 8-19 and a 6-16 record in conference play. The Tigers produced multiple highlights during the season that included sweeping cross-street rival Henderson State and junior guard
Emorie Knox tying two NCAA DII and GAC records with 10 consecutive three-pointers made against Henderson. Knox's 39 points in that game were also an NCAA-era school record.
Ouachita will graduate three seniors from this year's squad,
Kobe Dunlap.
Tylar Haynes, and
Marvin Williams-Dunn. All three seniors have played big roles as parts of Tiger basketball and their presence on the court will be missed.
For news and updates regarding all 18 of Ouachita's athletic teams, check OBUtigers.com
