ARKADELPHIA - The Ouachita men's basketball team never trailed Thursday night, rolling past cross-street rival Henderson State 90-60 inside Bill Vining Arena.
The Tigers set the tone early as senior PJ Neal lobbed a pass to junior Christian Parks for an alley-oop to strike the first blow. After the Reddies responded to force the lone tie, senior Devon Hancock buried a spot up three from the right wing. Ouachita deployed a horns set and Hancock used an elevator screen to drift to his right and drill a jumper from just inside the arc.
The Tigers locked down on the defensive end to force turnovers into transition buckets. Parks tipped a rebound to Neal, who returned the favor and found Parks cutting to the basket for a two-handed jam. Freshman Jaxon Conley followed up on the next defensive possession by diving to the hardwood to swipe a steal, then delivered a dime from the floor to lead Hancock ahead to flush a tomahawk slam, which forced the Reddies to burn their first timeout just three minutes into action.
After the Reddies momentarily stopped the bleeding, the Tigers hit three consecutive shots from distance to pounce on a 9-0 scoring run. Neal connected on an open three from the right wing, then the senior point guard found juniors Ryder McConnell and Trey Smith wide open for consecutive threes. Neal scored 10 points on an efficient 4-for-4 shooting performance, while dishing out nine assists and swiping three steals.
The Tigers doubled the Reddies midway through the first half after Smith made his second three from the top of the key, then junior Gavin Snyder followed with a transition three from left wing to force another Reddies timeout. The Tigers kept the pressure on with a relentless defensive effort as junior Jaden Webb blocked a shot inside the paint, which turned into a corner three by sophomore Crew Flowers in transition. Ouachita took advantage to double the Reddies point total once again after Snyder finished a fast break layup through contact and drew the foul.
Ouachita carried a commanding 53-27 lead into the locker room, then the Tigers picked up right where they left off in the second half. The Tigers matched their season averages on the defensive end, proving just how restricted opponents are from finding the basket. Ouachita ranks third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents to reach just 60.3 points per game. The Tigers limit opponents to shooting just 38% from the floor, which ranks sixth among Division II schools. Henderson State scored just 60 points and shot 38% from the floor.
After Henderson briefly cut into the deficit, McConnell delivered the knockout punch with a three from each corner to restore a 25-point cushion. The junior sharpshooter later connected on his fifth three-pointer to give Ouachita its largest lead of 34 points. McConnell led the Tigers with 15 points, knocking down 5-of-6 shots from distance. The Tigers overwhelmed the Reddies shooting 12-for-28 from 3-point range, while holding their rivals to just 3-for-15 from beyond the arc.
None of the Reddies could match the five players that reached double figures for the Tigers. Ouachita controlled the interior as Parks finished with 12 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Webb added season highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers delivered another statement win to improve to 14-3 overall and 10-1 in GAC play. Ouachita visits Harding for a rescheduled rivalry game in Searcy on Monday, Jan. 26, with tip-off for the men's game set at 7:30 p.m.
