BETHANY, Oklahoma – The Ouachita men's basketball team's six-game winning streak came to an end after an 80-71 loss to first-place Southern Nazarene University on the road Saturday afternoon.
Ouachita (11-5, 6-4 GAC) started slow, with Southern Nazarene (12-2, 9-1 GAC) taking an 8-0 lead over the first minute-and-a-half. The Tigers started to find a groove and cut the deficit down to two points after the following five minutes. However, the Crimson Storm answered and pushed its lead out to double digits. Ouachita managed to cut the Storm's lead back down to a single possession with five minutes left in the half, but SNU was quick with another answer. The Tigers went into the break trailing 32-38.
The Tigers came out in the second half and brought the game within just one possession again, but like the first half, Southern Nazarene had an answer and expanded its lead once again back to over 10 points. Ouachita was kept just out of reach for much of the second half and the Tigers fell by the score of 80-71, ending a month-long winning streak that started on December 14.
Hobert Grayson led the Tigers with 28 points and nine rebounds.
Reggie Martin was next in scoring with a Ouachita career-high 22 points that included going 7-for-8 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line. Martin was also third on the team in rebounds with four.
Shaun Williams was second on the team in rebounds with eight boards.
PJ Neal led the team with four assists and two steals.
The Tigers will look to bounce back on Thursday, January 23 when they make the trip across the street to take on the Reddies of Henderson State University, who currently sit in third place in the GAC Standings, at 7:30 p.m. in Arkadelphia at HSU's Duke Wells Center.
