A late run and a 47.7 percent mark from the floor gave the Ouachita Tigers (6-3) the push that they needed to capture Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce (8-3). The Tigers trailed by a score of 39-36 at halftime, but made a run late in the second half, forcing overtime. In the overtime period, the Tigers took an 82-76 win on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor during the period.
The Lions got up by as many as seven points in the second half before a 15-1 run from the Tigers pushed them ahead by seven. The two teams were back and forth for the rest of the half before a last second desperation shot to win the game dinged off for the Lions, sending the teams to an extra period of play.
In overtime, the Tigers jumped out to a four point lead and never looked back, taking a 10 point lead at one point before settling for a six point victory.
The Tigers overcame a 46 percent mark from the free throw line and a negative 14 margin on the boards in the game. They were efficient from the floor though, only turning the ball over 13 times while forcing 22 turnovers.
Five players finished with double-digit point totals for the Tigers, with Michael Morris and Austin Mitchell scoring 17 and 16 respectively. Colt Fason and Nigel Ramsey added 13 apiece, while Micah Delph knocked in 11.
Jason Smith did everything in his power to keep his Lions in the game, recording 22 points on a 5-of-9 performance from the floor and a 12-of-16 performance from the free throw line. Andrew Davis killed it on the boards, recording 13 rebounds in the game.
The Tigers scored 20 points off turnovers in the game, 10 more than the visiting Lions.
Ouachita’s victory over Texas A&M-Commerce comes just a few weeks after dropping a road game to the Lions by a final score of 69-56.
The Tigers will hit the road for a two game road swing beginning on December 29, when they travel to Stephenville, Texas to take on the Texans of Tarleton State. That game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off. They will follow that contest with a game on January 3 in Bethany, Oklahoma, taking on new conference foe Southern Nazarene.
