The Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team couldn’t recover from a sluggish start to the second half as the Tigers dropped the Gulf South Conference West Division opener to Delta State, 84-73, Saturday night at Sillers Coliseum.
Antonio Benjamin paced Ouachita (10-4 overall, 0-1 GSC West) with 20 points, while Ed Keyes added 16 points and nine rebounds. Daniel Maddox scored 13 and Jaranimo Marks chipped in with 10 as the Tigers were 24-of-66 (36 percent) shooting from the floor and 8-of-32 (25 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
The Statesmen (11-3, 1-0) opened the game on a 10-4 run as Arian Maliqi drained a 3-pointer with 15:01 remaining in the first half. Delta State extended the margin to 12-4 after a bucket by Joe McCray with 14:12 left.
Ouachita, which went on an 8-0 run, cut the margin to 12-7 after a three-point play by Keyes with 13:53 remaining. The Tigers continued to roar back, tying the contest at 12 after a 3-pointer by Rowan Ledbetter with 12:45 left.
Ledbetter gave Ouachita its first lead of the night, 17-15, on a 3-pointer with 9:45 remaining. However, a bucket by Alton Robinson tied the game at 17 with 9:30 left.
Trailing 19-17, Ouachita went on a 7-0 run to grab a 24-19 advantage after a jumper by Maddox with 7:06 remaining in the first half.
Delta State rallied and tied the contest on 26 after a layup by Robinson with 6:12 left. The Statesmen took a 31-26 lead after a layup by Robinson and a three by McCray with 5:53 remaining.
Ouachita, which shot 46 percent (16-of-35) from the floor in the first half, tried to battle back as Keyes sank a pair of free throws, but Robinson drained a 3-pointer at the other end to extend the Delta State advantage to 34-28 with a little more than four minutes to play in the first half.
The Tigers, who finished the first half on a 17-8 run, trimmed to deficit to 36-32 after a three by Ledbetter, but Maliqi kept the Statesmen ahead, 38-32, with two shots at the charity stripe with 3:13 remaining. Keyes cut the deficit to 38-34 after a dunk with 2:25 left.
Maddox cut the Delta State lead to 38-37 after a three with 1:40 remaining, and the Tigers climbed all the way back, taking a 40-38 advantage after a Benjamin layup and free throw with a little more than a minute to play in the opening half.
The Statesmen, who were 15-of-30 (50 percent) shooting in the opening half, cut a seven-point Tigers lead to 45-42 after Eric Spencer drained a 3-pointer right before the half.
Delta State began the second half strong and grabbed a 49-48 advantage after a Spencer layup with 15:34 remaining. However, Ouachita answered as Keyes scored on a dunk to take a 50-49 lead with 15:22 left.
The Statesmen scored the next 10 points to grab a 59-50 advantage after Spencer scored on a jumper with 13:01 remaining. Benjamin sank a 3-pointer to try to keep the game close, cutting the deficit to 59-53 with 12:41 left.
McCray gave Delta State a 62-54 lead with 9:29 left with two shots at the free-throw line and Brad Skipper scored on a layup to give the Statesmen a commanding 64-54 advantage with 8:57 remaining. Less than a minute later, McCray drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 67-54, forcing Tigers head coach Charlie Schaef to call a timeout.
Ouachita climbed back, cutting the deficit to 67-60 after a free throw by Maddox with 6:18 remaining. However, a bucket by Dmitry Pirshin pushed the margin to 69-60 with 5:52 left.
Again the Tigers tried to mount a comeback getting free throws by Roger Eiland and Benjamin to cut the margin to 71-65 with 3:37 remaining. But the lead may have been too big to overcome as Robinson sank a jumper with 2:49 left to give the Statesmen a 73-65 advantage.
Delta State’s lead had dwindled down to 73-66, but Spencer gave the Statesmen a 76-66 advantage with a 3-pointer, but Marks continued to keep the Tigers within reach, 76-69, with a three with 1:44 remaining.
The lead was just too much to overcome in the final two minutes to lift Delta State to the victory.
Robinson paced four Delta State players in double figures with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds. McCray added 19 points, while Spencer and Arian finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Chad Akins led the Statesmen in assists with 10. Delta State was 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the floor and 8-17 (47 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
The Tigers return home 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 15 to face the defending Gulf South Conference Champions, Christian Brothers, at Bill Vining Arena. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Baptist Athletic Web site at www.obutigers.com.
