The 16th-ranked Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team couldn’t hold onto to a double-digit, first-half lead as the Tigers dropped a 77-72 decision to Midwestern State Sunday afternoon during the final day of the River City Classic at Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s University.
Ouachita (9-3), which led by as many as 12 points in the first half, trailed 72-69 with less than a minute to play and were forced to foul.
Charlie Logan made one-of-two from the free-throw line and Nolan Richardson IV sealed the game by knocking down a pair to give the Mustangs a 75-69 lead with 35 seconds.
Jaranimo Marks led Ouachita with 21 points, while Ed Keyes added 19. Rowan Ledbetter scored 10 and Daniel Maddox chipped in with 10 rebounds.
Ouachita was 22-of-49 (45 percent) from the floor and 9-of-17 (53 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
The Tigers began the game with a pair of baskets as Daniel Maddox scored on a putback and Ledbetter drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, forcing Midwestern State head coach Jeff Ray to call a quick timeout just 1:45 into the game.
Ouachita, which finished the game by going 19-of-26 from the charity stripe, went three minutes without a field goal until Marks drained a fallaway jumper with 15:34 left in the first half to give the Tigers a 10-5 advantage. But a basket by Michael Godwin and a 3-pointer by Richardson tied the game at 10, forcing Tigers head coach Charlie Schaef to call a 30-second timeout.
After an Anthony Moore fastbreak layup gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game, Ouachita responded with a 12-1 run, capped by a fastbreak layup by Marks to give the Tigers a 26-15 lead with 7:52 remaining in the first half.
Ouachita increased the lead to 29-17 after a pair of free throws by Keyes with 6:28 left, but Richardson hit two shots from the charity stripe and Earl Rabb scored on a layup – the first Mustang field goal in nine minutes – to cut the Tiger lead to 29-21 with 4:50 remaining. However, Marks pushed the margin back to double digits, 32-21, with 4:05 left after a 3-pointer.
Midwestern State (6-4) used a 10-2 run, capped by two free throws by Richardson to climb back into the game, cutting the deficit to 34-31 with 1:17 left in the first half. However, the Tigers scored the final five points of the first half on two free throws by Ledbetter and a 3-pointer from the right wing by Brandon Rose to take a 39-31 advantage into the break.
The Mustangs opened the second half on a 7-0 run, while taking advantage of a cold-shooting Ouachita team as the Tigers went 3:18 without a field goal, until Marks sank a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 42-38 advantage with 16:42 remaining.
Midwestern State continued to keep the game close and tied the game at 42 on a pair of free throws by Richardson. A reverse layup by Logan gave the Mustangs a 46-43 advantage with 13:34 left, but Marks tied the contest at the other end on a three.
Ouachita, which hadn’t dropped back-to-back games since Feb. 16 and Feb. 22 against Harding and Christian Brothers, grabbed a 53-50 lead with 10:46 remaining after a Roger Eiland fastbreak layup, but back came the Mustangs as Midwestern State took a 56-55 advantage after a fastbreak layup by Chris Williams with 9:16 left.
Richardson drained back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Midwestern State to 62-57 with 7:57 remaining. Meanwhile, Ouachita went nearly four minutes without a field goal until Rose scored on a layup to cut the margin to 62-61 with seven minutes remaining.
Green helped the Mustangs break a 65-all tie with 4:15 left with a 3-pointer from the left wing. However, Keyes scored on a layup, while being fouled. He missed the free throw as Midwestern State led 68-67 with 3:24 remaining.
Richardson paced Midwestern State with 32 points, while Green added 11. The Mustangs were 26-of-53 for 49.1 percent from the floor. Midwestern State was 17-of-22 (77 percent) from the charity stripe and 8-of-17 (47 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
The Tigers open the 2009 portion of their schedule 4:00 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 8 at Bill Vining Arena against Rhema.
