Despite a 26-point outing from Ricky Brown, Oklahoma Baptist (4-4, 2-1 GAC) fell 85-80 late to Southeastern Oklahoma State (5-3, 2-1 GAC) inside the Noble Complex on Saturday night.
Brown netted 10 field goals, including six from beyond the arc, to go along with a career-high in steals (5). Joining Brown in the double-digures club were Trey Doomes, Nigel Wilcox, and freshman Ethan Scott. Doomes turned in 18 points, while Wilcox and Scott scored 13 and 12, respectively.
All of Scott’s points came from three-point land, as he finished shooting 44.4 percent (4-9).
The Savage Storm paired a 37-16 advantage in bench points with a 44-30 lead inside the paint to garner tonight’s victory over the Bison. Furthermore, SEOSU conceded one less turnover than the home team.
Wilcox kicked off the match with a crowd-pleasing layup to tally the game’s first point. After two minutes, Brown and Doomes traded buckets before Brown knocked down his first three-ball to push OBU’s advantage to 9-7.
From here, Scott stole the spotlight with three back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bison its second lead of the contest.
The rest of the half was heavily dependent on shooting accuracy and turnovers. Though both teams’ shooting statistics were similar, OBU’s turnover rate was higher than SEOSU’s. Therefore, Oklahoma Baptist trailed behind Southeastern until the clock read 3:36.
Down the first half stretch, Paul King, Brown, Scott, and Doomes spearheaded an 11-2 run that gave the green and gold a 46-39 lead going into intermission. OBU finished the half shooting 45.9 percent from the field.
The closing half produced another 20 minutes of gridlocked work between the two ball clubs.
In this tug-of-war style gameplay, Wilcox and Brown were scoring catalysts for the Bison.
Wilcox opened with a couple of layups, while Brown began his 19-point half with a three-pointer.
These efforts earned the Bison a 55-47 lead. Though ahead, Oklahoma Baptist came face-to-face with Southeastern’s shooting abilities.
SEOSU shot its way out of the eight-point deficit to knot the game at 58-all with 12 minutes remaining.
Thankfully, the hands of Wilcox broke the tie and put OBU back on top with ten minutes to go.
Though the threesome of Wilcox, Brown, and Doomes proved capable of scoring in the half, their successes doubled as a vulnerability for the Savage Storm to prey on.
With a defense specifically set on these three, SEOSU limited OBU’s shots and eclipsed the Bison 77-73 with 3:27 to go. By the game’s end, Southeastern won 85-80.
Next on the schedule is a contest in Ada, Okla., against the Tigers of East Central University (5-3, 1-2 GAC). Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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