Oklahoma Baptist University took control late in the first half and went on to defeat Arkansas Tech University 99-63 in men’s basketball at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Saturday afternoon.
The Bison (8-6 overall, 7-1 Great American Conference) outscored Arkansas Tech 15-4 over the final 4:17 of the opening half. OBU made 9-of-16 attempts from 3-point range during the opening 20 minutes and held a 51-35 advantage at the intermission.
Oklahoma Baptist pulled away behind a 15-0 run over a span of three minutes early in the second half. The spurt gave the Bison a 66-37 margin with 16:42 left and they carried at least a 21-point lead the rest of the way.
With the win, Oklahoma Baptist maintained a share of first place in the GAC standings.
Brantley Thompson scored a game-high 19 points for the Bison. All five Oklahoma Baptist starters reached double figures in scoring.
R.J. Glasper had 16 points and five assists for the Wonder Boys, while Will Adler finished with 15 points and Alex Brown contributed 13 points.
“I thought we missed some shots early, and that led to poor transition defense,” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach. “When you aren’t making shots, you have to do something else to keep the game within reach. We couldn’t do that today. You’ll see a lot better effort from our team on Thursday in Searcy.”
The Wonder Boys (3-11, 1-7) will visit Harding University for a 7:30 p.m. GAC contest at Rhodes-Reaves Field House in Searcy on Thursday, Jan. 17. Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live coverage.
