ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita men's basketball team lived up to the hype and lit up the scoreboard in a dominant 106-66 win over Dallas Christian in Tuesday's home opener inside Bill Vining Arena. Before tipoff, Ouachita honored the late Coach Bill Vining Sr., the winningest men's basketball coach in Arkansas history and Ouachita's longtime athletic director, who died in August at the age of 95.
Ouachita graduate senior guard Devon Hancock led the Tigers, scoring a game-high 25 points on a scorching 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Hancock piled up a ruthless 19 points in the first half, slicing through the defense and burying deep shots in transition. Hancock used a screen to finish a layup and initially get the Tigers on the scoreboard, then gave Ouachita its first lead after he rose up to snag a rebound, pushed the outlet pass to senior point guard P.J. Neal, who then swung an assist to freshman guard Jaxon Conley for a corner three. The Tigers (2-1) never relinquished the lead again.
Ouachita deployed a suffocating defense and held the Crusaders (4-5) scoreless for more than five minutes as the Tigers pounced to a pulverizing 25-3 scoring run in the first half. After the Crusaders responded with a 3-pointer to momentarily stop the bleeding, the Tigers retaliated and Hancock took the game over. The Dallas native drilled a corner 3-pointer, then dished an assist in transition to junior guard Ryder McConnell on the following possession. Hancock was relentless attacking the rim to finish another contested layup, plus the foul. The Tigers capped off the run showcasing brilliant passing by swinging the ball around the horn to McConnell, who connected with a 3-pointer from the wing to force a Crusaders timeout.
Conley scored 10 points and secured four steals, igniting a fast break with an outlet pass to sophomore guard Crew Flowers, who tossed an immaculate alley-oop for Hancock to finish the layup at the rim. Hancock returned the favor and found Conley open for a pair of corner 3s to increase the Tigers' lead to 49-25. The Tigers forced another timeout after Hancock drilled his second shot from beyond the arc. Ouachita doubled the first-half scoring effort from Dallas Christian to take a 58-29 lead into the halftime break.
The Tigers finished shooting 40-of-77 from the field and 14-of-37 from deep, while limiting the Crusaders to just 5-of-26 from 3-point range. Junior forward Christian Parks anchored the interior with a 10 points and 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season. Ouachita overwhelmed Dallas Christian, outscoring the visitors 48-37 in the second half and led by as many as 43 points before emptying the bench in the final minutes. The Tigers' bench contributed 46 points, highlighted by 14 points from junior forward Trey Smith on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Junior guard Gavin Snyder added eight points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Ouachita returns to action against Ecclesia on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside Bill Vining Arena.
