The Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team had three players in double figures and sealed the game late by sinking seven free throws during the final three minutes to hold off Texas A&M-Commerce, 66-59, Saturday afternoon at the Texas A&M-Commerce Field House.
Jaranimo Marks paced Ouachita by scoring 14 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. He was 8-of-16 from the field and 10-of-14 at the free-throw line. He also added 12 rebounds – all coming on the defensive end. Rowan Ledbetter finished with 12 points, including going 6-of-6 at the charity stripe, while Antonio Benjamin came off the bench to pour in 10 points.
The Tigers (3-1), winners of three straight, led 32-27 at the half and extended the lead to 36-29 after a Marks jumper with 18:44 remaining. However, Texas A&M-Commerce (2-2) used a 6-0 run, capped by a Cardell Hunter jumper with 16:14 left to cut the deficit to 36-35, forcing the Tigers to call timeout.
The Lions took their only lead of the second half with 14:52 remaining as Brad Hambrick scored on a layup. Ouachita responded by scoring the next four points, including a layup by Benjamin with 14:22 left to give the Tigers a 42-39 advantage.
Texas A&M-Commerce kept the game close and stayed within one to three points until Roger Eiland scored on a jumper with 9:55 left, giving Ouachita a 50-45 lead. The Lions rallied and tied the game for the seventh time at 51 after Deundrae Spraggins’ jumper with 8:29 remaining.
A Brandon Rose 3-pointer with 6:30 left gave the Tigers a 54-51 lead, but the Lions continued to keep the game close and cut the deficit to 58-57 after a pair of free throws by Hunter.
Ouachita, which was 20-of-42 from the floor for 47.6 percent and 19-of-24 at the free-throw line, sealed the game during the final three minutes as Marks and Ledbetter went a combined 7-of-8 from the foul line to extend the Tiger lead to 66-57.
Hunter paced the Lions offense with 17 points, while Rashad Brown had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Spraggins chipped in with 10 points. Texas A&M-Commerce was 25-of-64 shooting for 39.1 percent and just 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Ouachita returns home 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 24 to take on Central Baptist College at Bill Vining Arena. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Baptist athletic Web site at: www.obutigers.com.
