Five players reached double figures in scoring as the Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team broke into the Gulf South Conference West Division win column Saturday night with a 72-60 victory over Southern Arkansas at Bill Vining Arena.
Brandon Rose and Daniel Maddox paced Ouachita (11-7 overall, 1-4 GSC West) with 13 points. Ed Keyes and Antonio Benjamin recorded 12 each, while Rowan Ledbetter finished with 11 as the Tigers were 27-of-51 (53 percent) shooting and 13-of-19 (68 percent) from the charity stripe.
Ouachita raced out to a 15-9 advantage after two free throws by Benjamin with 10:56 remaining. Southern Arkansas kept things close, cutting the lead to 17-15 after a layup by Tony James.
The Tigers extended the margin to 29-22 after a layup by Ledbetter, but again the Muleriders battled back by using a 9-3 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Casey Cheshier with six seconds remaining.
Ouachita was 12-of-25 (48 percent) shooting in the first half. Despite going 1-of-9 from behind the 3-point line, the Tigers were 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Southern Arkansas was 9-of-16 (56 percent) from the floor and 12-of-14 (86 percent) from the foul line
The Tigers began the second half on fire and jumped out to a 42-33 advantage on a Rose layup with 15:07 left. The lead grew to 53-35 after a Ledbetter three with 10:43 remaining.
Southern Arkansas trailed by as many as 23 points twice, but couldn’t overcome such a big deficit.
Justin Stuart scored 16 points to lead Southern Arkansas (7-10, 1-4). Charles Moore had 13 points, which 11 of them came in the first half. The Muleriders were 20-of-39 (51 percent) from the floor and 16-of-28 (57 percent) from the foul line.
Ouachita travels across the road 8:00 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 29 to take on rival Henderson State in the basketball version of the “Battle of the Ravine.” The Gulf South Conference West Division rivalry can be heard on the Ouachita Baptist University Athletic Web site at www.obutigers.com.
