SPRINGFIELD, Mo- After posting a 41-12 lead at half, No. 25 Drury University was too much for the Ouachita Baptist Men’s Basketball team, winning 78-51 in a non-conference matchup at Springfield, Mo on Saturday.
Ouachita (1-3) outscored the Panthers (4-0) 39-37 in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the first half deficit. Freshman Austin Mitchell led the Tigers with 13 points, followed by freshman Olden Jordan’s 10-point effort, but the Tiger’s 20 percent (5-25) shooting percentage in the first half made it difficult to put together a comeback. Senior Belford Williams led Ouachita with 10 rebounds, while also putting together five points, two blocks and two steals.Ouachita finished with a 35.8 percent (19-53) shooting performance overall, after shooting 50 percent (14-28) from the court in the second half.
Drury was led by an 18-point effort from Alex Hall, followed in scoring by Chase Elliot (11) and Sahlih Butts (10). The Panthers forced Ouachita into 27 turnovers, while just committing 11 overall. Ouachita held the edge in rebounding 40-34, but shot just 22 percent from three-point range (5-22).
The Tigers return to Bill Vining Arena on Monday, November 30 at 7 p.m. against St. Edwards.