Jaranimo Marks scored 26 points, including the final two at the free-throw line to reach the 1,000-point plateau as the Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team held off LeTourneau, 83-70, Tuesday night at Bill Vining Arena.
Marks, who had 17 points in the season opener and was selected Most Valuable Player at the St. Edward’s Shootout Classic after pouring in 24 against host St. Edward’s, had 13 points at the half and finished with 26. He was 7-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line.
Ed Keyes, who put the game away with three straight dunks late, added 13 points on 6-of-12 from the floor. Daniel Maddox and Rowan Ledbetter each had 12 and 10, respectively.
The Tigers (2-1) started off sluggish for the third straight game, falling behind 13-1. However, Ouachita got back into the game with a dominating 20-2 run to grab a 21-15 lead after a Rowan Ledbetter 3-pointer with 8:09 remaining in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets (0-1) got as close as four points twice during the final eight minutes as Ouachita took a 35-26 advantage into the half after Antonio Benjamin scored on a layup with three seconds remaining.
LeTourneau made several runs during the second half to chip away at the Tiger lead, but couldn’t get any closer than six points.
Ouachita, which shot 29-of-65 from the field, finished with 42 points in the paint and had 18 second-chance points.
The Tigers travel 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22 to take on Texas A&M-Commerce, before returning home 7:00 p.m., Monday, Nov. 24 against Central Baptist at Bill Vining Arena.
