ARKADELPHIA- Even early in the first half, you could sense the game would come down to the wire, and that sentiment came true on Thursday night as Ouachita Baptist defeated Christian Brothers, 59-54, in a defensive battle for the Tigers second Gulf South Conference victory of the season at Bill Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.
Ouachita (6-16, 2-7 GSC West) didn’t match up with the much larger Buccaneers on paper, but with a balanced effort from the Tigers and a great performance from the lone senior on the roster, Belford Williams, Ouachita had just enough in the end to upset Christian Brothers (14-8, 4-5 GSC West). The victory marked the first time Ouachita has defeated Christian Brothers since Jan. 24, 2008. In a game where rebounds, shooting percentage and turnovers were close in comparison for both squads, it was the plus-16 made free-throws difference for Ouachita with 21 points at the line, compared to Christian Brother’s 5-for-7 effort.
In the first half, Ouachita jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the with 13:42 left in the half. Christian Brothers took the lead away with 11:22 left, only for the Tigers to jump back on top with 9:34 left to grab the lead at 26-20 at the half.
The second half of play featured seven lead changes as both squads struggled to run away with a big lead, but Ouachita went ahead, 45-44, at the 6:25 mark with a pair of free-throws made by freshman Emmanuel Engulu and never looked back from there. Christian Brothers brought the score within two at 51-49 with 3:03 left on a Scott Dennis layup, but the Tigers outscored the Bucs 8-5 from there, via five free-throws made.
Senior Belford Williams led Ouachita with 16 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Emmanuel Engulu added 11 points and four rebounds. Junior Scott Day added nine points and eight rebounds, while freshman Olden Jordan added eight points. Ouachita shot 44 percent overall on just 17-of-38 attempts, including 23 percent on 3-pointers and 75 percent at the free-throw line. The Tigers were held to their lowest amount of field goal attempts of the season at 38, as the previous low of the 2009-2010 season was against Arkansas Tech at 39 attempts on Jan. 21.
Christian Brother’s Zack Warner led all players with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Scott Dennis added 17 points and 15 rebounds. Christian Brothers shot 37 percent overall, including 26 percent on 3-pointers and 71 percent from the free-throw line.
Ouachita Baptist travels to Arkansas-Monticello to take on the Boll Weevils at 4 p.m. in a GSC matchup on Saturday at 4 p.m.
