DURANT, Okla. – The No. 25 Ouachita men's basketball team rallied after the break to earn a 75-63 road win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Thursday at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
Southeastern stormed to an early 6-0 lead, but Ouachita senior Devon Hancock answered with a pump-fake to step inside the arc and hit a jumper to get the Tigers on the scoreboard, then followed up and buried a corner three. Senior PJ Neal attacked the paint and twisted his wrist to put some English off the glass and score consecutive layups to keep Ouachita within striking distance.
The Tigers spent most of the first half chasing the Savage Storm, holding just one lead through the opening 20 minutes. Trey Smith responded by making the next four baskets to keep the Tigers afloat. The junior forward dug in his bag and used a pump fake to step inside the arc and knock down a jumper, then followed up with a spin through the lane to sink a floater. Hancock drove inside to draw a help defender, then kicked it out to Smith for his second three from the left wing.
Junior forward Christian Parks rose up at the rim before the first-half buzzer to reject a layup attempt and keep the score within one possession as the Storm took a slim 36-34 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers weathered the storm and outscored the Savage Storm 41-27 in the second half. Ouachita held Southeastern to just 31% shooting after the break, while limiting the Storm to just 4-for-18 (22%) from distance. The No. 25 Tigers turned a halftime deficit into a double-digit win to improve to 15-3 overall and 10-1 in Great American Conference play.
Neal started the second half by driving inside and kicking it out to sophomore Crew Flowers for a corner three to give Ouachita its first lead since the opening minutes. From there on, the Tigers constantly forced empty trips, while steadily seizing the momentum as the league's top defense began to dictate the pace of play. Despite being called for goaltending four times, Parks remained a force with four blocks and swatted multiple shots in a span of two possessions.
After Southeastern took a 42-39 lead on a second-chance three, Hancock answered with a second-chance triple of his own. Hancock, the league's third-leading scorer, led the Tigers with 21 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Flowers followed up banking in a baseline floater to push Ouachita back in front and finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The pendulum swung back and forth, until Conley delivered the night's biggest highlight, stripping the ballhandler and finishing the fast break with a two-handed dunk. The Tigers never relinquished the lead from that point.
Junior Gavin Snyder sparked the decisive stretch by knocking down his first made shot on a wide-open corner three to take the lead, then dribbled behind his back before threading a dime to Flowers cutting to the basket for a layup. On the next possession, Snyder broke down the Southeastern defense and kicked it to Smith, who buried another corner three to stretch the lead to 58-52.
Ouahita took firm control after Flowers and Snyder connected on an masterful inbound play to find Hancock for a three from the left wing. Smith scored a season-high 16 points and iced the road victory after pulling up with his fourth 3-pointer on four attempts to extend the Tigers' edge to double digits before the final media timeout.
Ouachita stays in Oklahoma to face East Central on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled at 3 p.m.
