Ouachita basketball has been a well-known program in the state of Arkansas and is becoming a well-known program in the south. It has seen much success in recent years, as the women have seen multiple NCAA national tournament berths, including one in 2011 and making it to the sweet 16 in 2008.
For the men, they have also seen much success in recent times, including two Great American Conference Tournament Championships in 2013 and 2016, and a Great American Conference Regular Season Championship in 2015. They also went dancing into the Division II NCAA Tournament in 2016, as they qualified for the first time since 2008.
Three seniors on the men’s side have played a huge role in the Tigers’ recent success and are looking to go out with a bang as they close out their collegiate basketball career. Carven Holcombe, a 6’5 center majoring in political science from Plano, Texas, is the only one of the three seniors to have spent all four years at Ouachita.
As a freshman, Holcombe played in all 26 games and started in 13 of them. He averaged 18.3 minutes per game and five rebounds per game, while shooting 43.7 percent from the floor. He was also second on the team in total rebounds and offensive rebounds, with 130 and 44, respectfully. Holcombe noted that the success the Tigers are seeing now was a process and that his freshman year saw hard times.
“My freshman year…We didn’t make it to the tournament [the GAC Conference Tournament]; we were one of the three teams who didn’t qualify. We didn’t play well that year, but we bounced back my sophomore year,” Holcombe said.
As a sophomore, Holcombe played in 17 games, while starting one. He shot 53.7 percent from the floor. He grabbed a season high 13 rebounds and recorded his first double-double against Southern Arkansas University on Jan. 24, 2015. Holcombe noted that a strong recruiting class played a huge role in the turnaround for the men’s program.
“My sophomore year, we got Jordan (Corbitt), Tae (Willis), J Mac (McCleary) and Tirrell (Brown) all at the same time, so that was a strong recruiting class. My sophomore year is when we started winning more, and we ended up winning the conference,” Holcombe said.
As a junior, Holcombe started in 22 of 23 games, averaging 5.7 rebounds per game while also shooting 49.6 percent from the floor on the year. He scored his season high 16 points against Arkansas Tech University on Jan. 14, 2016 and again on Jan. 30, 2016 versus Southern Nazarene University. He also had eight games where he recorded eight or more rebounds, with his season high of 11 coming against Harding on Jan. 16, 2016.
Holcombe continued to elaborate on the success the team saw during his junior year as well.
“We had a good team again, should’ve won conference but ended up winning the conference tournament and [were] able to go to the NCAA tournament, so that was a big accomplishment for our program,” Holcombe said.
Justin McCleary, a senior kinesiology major from Jacksonville, Ark. has played three of four years at Ouachita under Head Coach Dennis Nutt. Prior to Ouachita, McCleary played one year at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Miss. McCleary noted that it was the recruitment from the assistant coach at the time, Logan Johnson, that led him to Ouachita.
“Coach Johnson recruited me, and when I got here as a sophomore, I ended up staying because it was a really nice fit for me,” McCleary said.
As a sophomore, McCleary played in 25 games and started 18 of them, where he averaged 10.4 points per game. He was second on the team in three-point percentage at 42.1 percent and was also second on the team in free-throw percentage, going 33-39 from the line for 84.6 percent. He made a career high six three-point field goals against Bible Baptist on Nov. 15, 2014 and against East Central on Jan. 10, 2015.
As a junior, McCleary was an All GAC Second-Team player. He played in 31 games and started in 27 of them, averaging 13.2 points per game. He led the team with 46 steals and had five games of 20 plus points with a career high of 29 against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, 2016.
Although he is viewed by his teammates as one of the leaders of the team, McCleary noted that he doesn’t like viewing himself as a dominant figure on the team.
“Honestly, I know a lot of the young guys look up to us, but I don’t like the dominant senior leader type of stuff. I just like everyone giving their input and ultimately pushing as one,” McCleary said.
Lakee Westbrook, a senior kinesiology major from Shannon, Miss., has spent his last two years at Ouachita playing under Coach Nutt. Prior to Ouachita, Westbrook spent two years at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss., where he averaged 14 points per game and shot 47 percent from the three-point line. He was recruited by Coach Nutt himself, and that’s what ultimately led him to Ouachita.
“Coach Nutt recruited me from the [junior college] level, and I just really liked fit here,” Westbrook said.
As a junior in his first year at Ouachita, Westbrook was named Great American Conference Newcomer of the year, along with All-GAC Second Team.
In their final season as Ouachita Tigers, each senior has put up impressive numbers, all averaging career highs in certain categories. Both Westbrook and McCleary are averaging career highs in points with 17.9 and 14.1 respectively. Holcombe is averaging a career high in both points and rebounds, with 11.5 points per game, while snagging 7.3 rebounds per contest. The Tigers finish the season February 25.
– By Marcellus Hill, sports writer
