ARKADELPHIA — The No. 20 Ouachita Baptist University men's basketball team leaned on late-game execution to rally from behind and beat Northwestern Oklahoma State by an 81-73 final inside Bill Vining Arena.
The Tigers seized the moment and capitalized on a technical foul that was assessed to the Rangers after senior Robbie Armbrester fouled out of the game from an offensive charge. On the ensuing possession, Ouachita senior PJ Neal blew past his defender and powered through the contact to make a bank shot while diving to the hardwood, which cut the once 13-point deficit to just 60-59 with 5:43 left to play.
Ouachita took its first lead moments later on a masterful play design as freshman Jaxon Conley cut through a screen and was led inside before he used a pump fake to lift his defender off his feet and finished the close range basket, while drawing a foul. The Tigers scored three traditional 3-point plays in a row to take control in crunch time. Junior rim protector Christian Parks spiked consecutive shots on the Rangers' next possession, sending the basketball off the court and into the stands, then he sent the second chance into orbit to reignite the home crowd.
Senior Devon Hancock delivered down the stretch and led the Tigers with 22 points and eight rebounds. With just under three minutes remaining, Hancock snatched a board off the glass and pounced ahead to ignite the flow of a fast break, then delivered a bounce pass into the hands of Conley for an open layup. Neal drove left and bulldozed his way through the lane to make another fall away bank shot and extend the lead to 70-66 with 1:30 left to play.
Ouachita made nine of its last 10 free throws in the final minute to pull away from Northwestern, earning the 14th win in its last 15 games to stay atop the Great American Conference standings.
The Rangers (9-12, 6-9 GAC) opened on a 7-0 scoring run after redshirt-senior Keyondre Young connected on a 3-point shot. Saturday's affair featured two of the league's top scorers, including Northwestern's Max Alexander and Ouachita's Devon Hancock, who dueled early and traded tough, contested shots to control the tempo.
On three different occasions, Hancock attacked off a ball screen to bury a contested shot and cut the deficit to within five points, but Northwestern found an early answer for every Ouachita push in the first half to take a 40-34 lead into the break. Alexander played all 40 minutes and finished with 25 points for the Rangers.
Ouachita (18-3, 14-1 GAC) flipped the script midway through the second half, imposing a defensive effort to fuel a 9-1 scoring run that trimmed a nine-point deficit to one.The Tigers held the Rangers in check when it mattered most, outscoring the visitors 47-33 in the second half to improve to 11-1 at home this season.
Ouachita travels to Searcy on Monday for a rescheduled game against Harding, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
