ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita men's basketball team got revenge and took down No. 20 Southern Nazarene by the final score of 76-70 on Friday night in Bill Vining Arena.
Third-place Ouachita (18-7, 13-6 GAC) struck first, scoring within the first 20 seconds in the Friday night matchup with first-place Southern Nazarene (18-5, 15-4 GAC). The Crimson Storm answered by taking a five-point lead over the first five minutes of action, but the Tigers were quick to respond by retaking the lead at the 13:26 mark. Ouachita found a foothold and pushed its lead all the way out to nine points with just over six minutes to go in the opening half. Then, it was SNU that found a groove and clawed its way back to retake a late lead. The final three minutes of the half went back-and-forth, but it was the Tigers that found the advantage just before the break and went into halftime leading 32-28.
After a hot start to the second half that saw Ouachita push its lead to seven, Southern Nazarene came back and took its first lead of the half after the first three minutes. Over the next 12 minutes, the game saw a total of eight lead changes and four ties. The Tigers got back out in front for the last time at the 4:31 mark and dug in their heels. Ouachita had an answer for each shot SNU offered and kept the top 20 Crimson Storm just out of reach over the final five minutes. The Tigers lead by as many as eight points in those final minutes, holding off the Storm to secure the 76-70 upset and get revenge for the loss earlier in the season.
Ouachita forced 16 turnovers in the win, while committing only seven. The Tigers held Southern Nazarene to 26.3 percent from three-point range, down from their season average of 36 percent.
Hobert Grayson led all scorers with 18 points and led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
Reggie Martin and
Shaun Williams tied for second in scoring with 15 points each and the duo also tied for the team lead in steals with two each. Martin picked up his 15 points of 5-of-8 shooting with a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Williams hit his 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Williams also tied with
PJ Neal for the team lead in assists with each handing out three.
MJ Leslie went 3-for-4 from three-point range for nine points in the win.
Tonight's win marks Ouachita's first win over a top 25 team since the 2022-23 season, when the Tigers upset No. 22 Southern Nazarene in the opening round of the GAC tournament.
The win also pushes Ouachita into a tie for second place in the Great American Conference standings. The Tigers sit just two games out of first place with three games left in the regular season.
The Tigers' next matchup will carry a lot of weight as Ouachita hosts Oklahoma Baptist on Sunday, February 23 at 3 p.m. in Vining Arena with the winner claiming sole possession of second place in the GAC standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
