OBU men’s basketball falls just short in upset bid of No. 24 UAM

January 18, 2009

The Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team fell just short in upsetting No. 24 Arkansas-Monticello Saturday afternoon as the Tigers lost, 58-49, in a Gulf South Conference West Division game at the Steelman Fieldhouse.

Roger Eiland led the Tigers (10-6 overall, 0-3 GSC West) with 13 points. Daniel Maddox added 10 as Ouachita was 22-of-51 (43 percent) from the floor shooting and had 28 rebounds.

Arkansas-Monticello (13-3, 2-1) raced out to a 7-3 lead after a 3-pointer by Raymond Wright with 15:17 left. However, Ouachita rallied to tie the contest at 7 after a Brandon Rose layup with 13:48 remaining.

The Boll Weevils grabbed a 10-7 advantage after a three by Don Riley, but the Tigers got a layup by Eiland and a 3-pointer by Rowan Ledbetter to take a 12-10 lead with 10:12 remaining in the opening half.

Arkansas-Monticello halted a 9-3 Tigers run when Derek Easter and Wright scored on back-to-back putbacks to tie the game at 14 with 7:37 left.

The Boll Weevils used a 12-5 run, capped by a Wright layup to give Arkansas-Monticello a 26-19 advantage with 2:05 left, forcing Tigers coach Charlie Schaef to call timeout.

Neither team could score in the final two minutes of the first half as the Tigers went into the half trailing 26-19.

Ouachita was 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from the floor and had 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Boll Weevils were 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) shooting and had 26 rebounds, but couldn’t take advantage of the edge on the boards with just eight second-chance points.

Arkansas-Monticello took a 33-25 lead with 17:10 remaining on a Riley 3-pointer, but Antonio Benjamin scored on a short jumper and drained a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 33-30 with 16:23 left.

Wright, who had 16 points and eight rebounds at the half, and Deron Brown helped the Boll Weevils use a 9-0 run to grab a 39-30 advantage with 14:35 remaining.

The Tigers pulled to within 42-36 after an Eiland putback, but Duke Sturdivant extended the advantage to 45-36 after a layup and free throw with 9:50 left.

Ouachita continued to find ways to trim the deficit as Rose and Eiland scored on back-to-back layup to cut the margin to 47-43 with 6:52 remaining. Ledbetter trimmed the Boll Weevils lead to 47-45 with a little under six minutes left on a layup.

The Tigers climbed all the way back from a nine-point, second-half deficit as Maddox and Quintin Smith scored on back-to-back trips down the floor to tie the contest at 49 with 3:50 left to force Arkansas-Monticello Mike Newell to call a timeout.

After the timeout Sturdivant drained a long 3-pointer to put the Boll Weevils ahead 52-49 with 3:15 remaining. The Boll Weevils put the game away in the final minute and a half as Wright scored on a short jumper. Wright and Easter had back-to-back dunks in the midst of an 9-0 run to close out the game.

Wright was the only Boll Weevil player to reach double figures as he recorded a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Arkansas-Monticello was 22-of-62 for 35.5 percent from the field and grabbed 58 rebounds.

Ouachita, which played back-to-back ranked opponents for the first time this season, completes a two-game road swing 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22 at Arkansas Tech in a Gulf South Conference West Division game. The contest can be heard on the Ouachita Baptist University Athletic Web site at: obutigers.com or on KYXK-FM 106.9 and through live stats at: http://athletics.atu.edu/livestats/xlive.htm

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