CLEVELAND, MS- The Ouachita Tigers (3-1) traveled to Cleveland, Mississippi on Saturday for their second match-up of the season against the Delta State Statesmen (3-2). The Tigers were played much tighter by Delta this time around and were unable to stretch their record to 4-0 as the Statesmen pulled out a 65-62 win.
Ouachita looked to multiple players to carry the scoring load but sophomore David Day led the team, finishing with 15 points while also adding six rebounds and two assists. Juniors Nigel Ramsey and Austin Mitchell both finished with 11 points, while Ramsey also recorded five rebounds and four assists and Mitchell added two rebounds and a steal. Senior Emmanuel Engulu recorded 10 points, adding three rebounds to the Tigers’ totals. Junior Julian LaDay finished with nine points but continued to lead the team in assists, collecting five during the game. The Tigers shot 42 percent from the floor in the game but were unable to sink the three as they normally do; only making 21 percent of their shots from behind the arc. They shot very well from the free throw line, making 83 percent of their freebies.
Delta State was led by Cornell Knight, who finished with a game high 22 points, also adding five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Marqueys Brown added 16 points of his own to the Statesmen’s totals, also collecting seven rebounds. Aaron Cooper finished with 13 points, also adding five rebounds and three assists.
The Tigers won the turnover battle, 24-17, but were unable to pull the game out over the Statesmen, as the rebound totals might have been indicative of why. The Statesmen owned the glass, recording 36 rebounds while Ouachita only gathered 29. Another key to the Tigers loss was Delta State’s lights out shooting. Delta hit 54 percent of their shots in the game, including a 50 percent shooting percentage from behind the arc.
The Tigers return to action on Monday, when they host Champions Baptist at 7 p.m.
