RUSSELLVILLE – Arkansas Tech University will be part of the women’s basketball postseason for a 14th consecutive year.

The Golden Suns clinched a berth in the 2020 Great American Conference Tournament by defeating Oklahoma Baptist University 78-63 at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Thursday night.

“This is a good achievement for our team,” said Dave Wilbers, ATU head coach. “This is the toughest (NCAA Division II) league in America in terms of RPI and strength of schedule. We improved the last three days in practice, and we just need to keep getting better.”
The Golden Suns (15-8 overall, 12-7 GAC) made 5-of-10 3-point attempts and out-rebounded Oklahoma Baptist 27-13 in the first half. ATU led 19-12 after one quarter and 39-26 at the intermission.

Arkansas Tech’s Sarah Heard scored the first six points of the second half to stake the Golden Suns to a 45-26 edge with eight minutes left in the third quarter. ATU maintained at least a 14-point advantage the rest of the evening.

Five Golden Suns reached double figures in scoring, led by Ke’Vonshaye Stackhouse with 18 points. Kaley Shipman finished with 17 points, Ryann Goodsell had 11 points and Jayana Sanders and Heard contributed 10 points apiece.

Arkansas Tech stopped a three-game losing streak and improved to 10-3 all-time against the Bison.

Adda Nwarie scored a game-high 20 points for Oklahoma Baptist (5-20, 1-18), which suffered its sixth consecutive loss.

The Golden Suns will play their final home game of the 2019-20 season when they host Southern Nazarene University for a 1 p.m. GAC contest at Tucker Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 22.

ATU will honor Leighton Taylor and Goodsell during a Senior Day ceremony recognizing their contributions to the Golden Suns’ program over the past four years.

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ARKADELPHIA – Lani Snowden tied a season-high with 16 points and set a new career-high with four assists as Henderson State defeated Oklahoma Baptist, 73-64.

Snowden was one of five Reddies in double figures. Pink Jones added 12 points to go along with five rebounds and six assists, Brittany Branum and Maci Mains both scored 11, and Blu Jones tacked on 10 of her own. Hailey Estes set a season-high with 13 rebounds while playing a team-high 37 minutes. Henderson outscored OKBU 41-22 across the second and third quarters.

Henderson State (14-6, 9-5) returns to action next Thursday, Feb. 7, when HSU hosts Southern Arkansas at 5:30 p.m.

1st Quarter
After trading two buckets, the Reddies made the first run of the afternoon as a transition 3-pointer from Blu Jones and a layup from Karrington Whaley put Henderson up 9-4 and forced an OKBU timeout. The Reddies extended their lead after the stoppage, as baskets from Pink Jones, Snowden, and Estes gave HSU its largest lead, 15-9. OKBU would not go away, however, and closed the opening quarter on an 8-3 run to knot the score at 18-18 after ten minutes.

2nd Quarter
Henderson punched back in the early moments of the second, as 3-pointers from Branum, Estes, and Maci Mains highlighted a 17-5 HSU run. Mains got going down the stretch of the period and scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the half to help the Reddies win the quarter 24-11 and carry a 42-29 lead into the break.

3rd Quarter
Henderson State gave OKBU no chance to get back into the game following the game’s intermission. The Reddies held the Lady Bison without a field goal for the last 7:11 of the third period, as Snowden scored eight of her 16 points in the quarter to help the HSU take a 59-40 advantage entering the fourth.

4th Quarter
After a 3-pointer from Oklahoma Baptist cut the HSU lead to 16 points, the Reddies responded with a 9-3 spurt to seize their largest lead of the game, 68-46. Oklahoma Baptist cut into the lead down the stretch, but never truly threatened Henderson’s advantage as the Reddies rolled to victory, 73-64.

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SHAWNEE, Okla. — Henderson State’s balanced offense clicked on all cylinders on Thursday night as the Reddies put four players in double figures and shot 61.5 percent from the field in the second half to roll over Oklahoma Baptist 86-62 at the Noble Complex. The win improves HSU to 10-2 on the year and 5-1 in Great American Conference play.

Hailey Estes had one her best games of the season to lead HSU, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Blu Jones added 16 with three 3-pointers while Karrington Whaley was 7-for-8 from the floor to chip in 15 points with eight boards. Brittany Branum was the final Reddie in double figures as she put up 10 points and seven rebounds.

Henderson had its offense clicking early, as the Reddies shot 51.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and opened up a lead as large as 12 points in the second quarter before taking a 38-30 lead into the break. Branum and Whaley were the beneficiaries of some nice interior passes and combined to score 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the opening half against a porous zone defense from OKBU.

The Reddies took complete control of the game in the second half and shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the final two quarters, which included a scorching mark of 10-for-11 in the fourth, to pull away for a comfortable 24-point win.

As a team, Henderson out-rebounded the Lady Bison 42-29 and racked up 17 assists to just eight for Oklahoma Baptist. Autumn Avina and Victoria Blankenship combined for 42 of OKBU’s 62 points in the game.

HSU will play the second game of its Oklahoma road trip on Saturday when it takes on Southern Nazarene at 1 p.m. in Bethany, Oklahoma.

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MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas-Monticello used an early 14-0 lead to help hold off Oklahoma Baptist University for a 45-37 Homecoming win, Oct. 20, at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium. The win is the Boll Weevils’ fourth-straight Homecoming victory and third-straight win of the season.

In a game featuring more than 1,100 combined yards of offense, senior quarterback Cole Sears paced the Weevils with a 412-yard and passing day, completing 21-of-38 passes with four touchdowns.

On the Weevils’ fourth offensive play of the game, Ke’Dren Brunson found the end zone on a 72-yard pass play from Sears – Brunson’s first touchdown of the season and Sears’ third-longest career pass.

Oklahoma Baptist looked to answer, but Deon Knox picked off a Preston Haire pass at the Weevils’ 10-yard-line. Two possessions later, Sears threw his second touchdown pass of the game, connecting with DeAndre Washington from 30-yards out and a 14-0 lead.

The Bison stuffed Imani Riley on a fourth-and-goal to stop the drive and force a fumble, recovered by Myles Russell. The turnover sparked a 12-play, 97-yard OBU scoring drive. Haire carved his way through the secondary, completing 5-of-7 passes for 47 yards, including back-to-back passes of 20 and 5 yards to Cagney Roberson to put the Bison on the board, 14-7, with 11:07 to play in the half.

OBU held the Weevils and put together a 93-yard drive with Haire hitting Dillon Smith for a 20-yard touchdown. Luke Wendl’s PAT tied the game, 14-14. UAM answered before the half with Sears tossing to Deontario Brown for a 20-yard touchdown and 21-14 lead 26 seconds before halftime.

Monticello slowed the Bison’s offense a bit in the third quarter, forcing a turnover on downs and holding OBU to a 27-yard field goal by Wendl on the first two possessions. After the field goal made it 21-17, Sears put the Weevils in striking distance with a 34-yard pass to Malcomm Staten down to the 2. Staten then punched it in with a 2-yard run for his first touchdown as a Weevil and a 28-17 lead.

Each time OBU scored, UAM answered.

Tyler Stuever caught a 57-yard touchdown pass from Haire early in the fourth quarter, 28-24, but Sears threw his fourth touchdown of the day, a 69-yard connection with Washington, 35-24. Then it was Haire to Josh Pettijohn from 8 yards out, 35-30, before Josh Marini tacked on a 37-yard field goal, 38-30, with 3:05 to play.

Freshman defensive back Jimel London put an end to the back-and-forth, picking off a Haire pass and returning it 56 yards for a touchdown, 45-30.

OBU attempted a late rally, scoring with a minute remaining on an 18-yard pass from Haire to Noah McGraw. Lloyd Turner recovered the on-side kick for UAM to secure the win.

Washington led the Weevils receivers with 106 yards on his three catches, while Jeremy Hampton had two catches for 88, next was Brunson’s one grab for 72 yards.

Haire finished the day with 493 yards on 43-of-64 passing and five TDs, but threw three interceptions. Roberson had 13 catches for OBU for 129 yards, Pettijohn caught nine passes for 118 yards, while Smith had 77 yards and Stuever had 75 yards, each on six catches.

Knox added eight solo tackles and an assist to his interception to lead the Weevils’ defense. Christian Jefferson had eight tackles. Marshaud Melancon joined Knox and London with interceptions.

Josh Arnold had a game-high 18 tackles for Oklahoma Baptist, followed by 10 from Kris Greer.

UAM (4-4) will remain home Oct. 27 to host Ouachita Baptist University for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

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SHAWNEE, Okla. – Brockton Brown (Sheridan, Ark.) ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the opening quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game as the No. 5/6 Ouachita Tiger football team literally steam rolled over Oklahoma Baptist 58-21 on Saturday afternoon.

Ouachita (7-0) dominated every aspect of the football game especially on the offensive side of the ball. The Tigers torched the Bison for 454 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Brown by himself out rushed the entire Oklahoma Baptist (2-5) team by 59 yards, on top of that his three touchdowns matched the Bison’s complete game total.
Brown now has 10 rushing touchdowns on the season.

Seven different Tigers rushed the ball on the day. Kris Oliver (Arkadelphia, Ark.) finished the game with 92 rushing yards on 13 attempts, freshman TJ Cole (Texarkana, Texas) ran for 61 yards and his second career touchdown. Quarterbacks Caleb Sallisbury (Van Buren, Ark.) and Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.) each had 30 or more rushing yards and Brazeal added a rushing touchdown as well. Running backs Shun’cee Thomas (Bossier City, La.) and Barry Bennett (Tifton, Ga.) rounded out the carries for the Tigers, Bennett scored his first touchdown of the season late in third quarter.

The Tigers also showed that they had a passing attack this afternoon, with Ouachita quarterbacks completing all 11 throws for 108 yards. Brazeal had his first multi-touchdown game through the air on Saturday afternoon. It was the first passing touchdown for the Tiger offense since week one against Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Eight different Tigers caught passes on Saturday afternoon. Senior wide receivers Lamar Haynes (Jonesboro, Ark.) and La’Darius McElroy (Ashdown, Ark.) each had touchdown receptions. While leading wide receiver Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) hauled in a pair catches.

Oklahoma Baptist quarterback Preston Haire managed to pass for 236 yards in the contest, but Zack Curry (Nashville, Tenn.), Dillion Scott (Arkadelphia, Ark.) and Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) each got an interception in the contest. The Ouachita defense now has 14 interceptions on the season and 32 pass break ups. Tevin Jones (Jonesboro, Ark.), Hunter White (Nashville, Ark.) and Airric Parker (San Diego, Calif.) tied for the team lead in tackles with six. Freshman linebacker Tommy Crumpton (Little Rock, Ark.) led the team with a sack and a half in the game.

On special teams Cole Antley (Atlanta, Ga.) connected on his lone field goal of the afternoon. The senior kicker also had five touchbacks on 10 kickoff attempts. Freeman returned his only punt of the day for 30 yards and Thomas and three kickoff returns for 55 yards.

With the victory on Saturday, Ouachita is now 6-2-1 All-Time against Oklahoma Baptist and the Tigers are currently riding a five game winning streak in the series. Oklahoma Baptist will have to wait another season to try and end their 79-year winless drought against the Tigers.

Ouachita currently sits alone at the top of the Great American Conference standings after Southern Arkansas fell 21-0 to Southeastern Oklahoma State.

First Quarter: Ouachita 24, Oklahoma Baptist 0
On the first offensive play of the game, Oliver took the handoff from Brazeal and scampered 41 yards to the Oklahoma Baptist 29-yard line. A penalty and a failed third down conversion brought the Tigers special teams unit out onto the field. Antley easily connected on his 43-yard attempt and Ouachita had an early 3-0 lead.

The Ouachita defense stepped up and forced a quick three-and-out. The Ouachita offense began their second drive of the afternoon with 11:46 to go in the opening quarter. On the second play of the drive Brown sprinted ahead for a 36-yard gain, down to the Bison 15-yard line. This time the Tiger offense would not be denied as Brown rumbled into the endzone three plays later.

The Tiger defense forced another three-and-out and the offense was once again set up with great field position. Brown lined up in the backfield on a third down play and blew past the Bison defense in route to a 50-yard touchdown run.

Down 17-0 Oklahoma Baptist began to click on offense during their third drive of the afternoon. The Bison marched the ball down inside the Ouachita 10-yard line, but Evans made sure that’s as far as they would go. On the 12^th play of the drive Evans intercepted his fourth interception of the season.

The Tiger offense setup shop at their own 23-yard line and seemed content to run the ball with only a 1:37 remaining in the quarter. On the third play of the drive Brown exploded for a 68-yard touchdown run, to give the Tigers a 24-0 lead after a single quarter of play. The 68-yard run was the longest rushing touchdown of Brown’s career.

Second Quarter: Ouachita 38, Oklahoma Baptist 7
Oklahoma Baptist got the ball to start the second quarter of play. Once again the Bison appeared to be clicking and worked their way back into the Tigers redzone. A pair of incomplete passes forced the Bison to turn to their special team’s units. Luke Wendl lined up for the 41-yard field goal and he clanked it off the right upright.

Ouachita decided to burn some clock on their fifth possession of the afternoon. On the third play of the drive Brazeal showed off his running ability with a 20-yard scamper to the Ouachita 49-yard line. On the second third down of the drive Brown received the handoff to Brazeal and busted another 25-yard run down to the Oklahoma Baptist 18-yard line. A few plays later and Brazeal ran the ball in from 14-yards out to give the Tigers 31-0 lead on Oklahoma Baptist.

With under five minutes remaining in the half Oklahoma Baptist faced a third down on the Tigers 40-yard line. Tyler Stuever found a hole in the Ouachita defense and the ran the ball in for the Bison’s first score of the game.

The Tiger offense immediately responded on their next possession. On the second play of the drive Thomas gashed the defense for a 16-yard gain. A few plays later Brazeal connected with McElroy for the Tigers first passing touchdown of the afternoon.

The half ended with Ouachita leading 38-7 at the halftime break.

Third Quarter: Ouachita 58, Oklahoma Baptist 14
The Ouachita defense forced the Bison to go three-and-out on their opening drive of the second half. A 30-yard punt return by Freeman set the Tigers up with a golden opportunity from the Bison 37-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Brazeal connected with Haynes for his second passing touchdown of the game and his third score overall.

Oklahoma Baptist once again appeared to have the makings of a decent drive, but defensive lineman Zack Curry put an end to it with an interception on the fourth play of the drive.

With 8:51 to go in the quarter Oklahoma Baptist called a timeout as Ouachita faced their first fourth down of the afternoon. The Tigers elected to go for it as freshman running back TJ Cole burst through the Bison defense for a 33-yard gain. Cole finished off the drive on the next play with a two-yard touchdown run.

The Ouachita defense smelled blood as they looked to finish off their prey. Dillion Scott intercepted the ball and ran it back 37-yards to the Bison’s three-yard line. Bennett pounded the ball in one play later and the Tigers held a 58-7 lead over the Bison.

Oklahoma Baptist took over with 7:10 remaining in the quarter. The Bison worked their way methodically down the field and scored in seven plays.

Fourth Quarter: Ouachita 58, Oklahoma Baptist 21
At this point in the game it was a foregone conclusion that the Tigers would walk away with the victory. Oklahoma Baptist scored a touchdown on an 11-play drive but that did not make much of a dent in the deficit they faced.

Ouachita took over with 9:15 left in the game and the Tigers ran 14-plays to run the clock out. The victory gives the Tigers seven on the season and it is their first 7-0 start since the 2014 season.

The Tigers will have a short turnaround this week as they host Southern Nazarene on Thursday evening at Cliff Harris Stadium. Kickoff for the Southern Nazarene game is scheduled for 6 p.m. For all the latest news on the Ouachita football team head over to obutigers.com or follow the official social media accounts of Ouachita Athletics.

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SEARCY – Harding made four of its seven shot attempts in overtime and held on to defeat Oklahoma Baptist 72-69 Thursday in Great American Conference men’s basketball action at the Rhodes-Reaves Field House.

Harding held Oklahoma Baptist without a field goal for an 11-minute stretch of the second half, but Oklahoma Baptist scored six points in the last 1:26 of regulation to force overtime at 63-63.

Harding (4-17, 4-12) went on a 16-2 run during the span where Oklahoma Baptist missed 16 consecutive shots.

Harding scored the first five points in overtime on a Tim Wagner layup and Zac Ward‘s 3-pointer. The Bisons led by three on a Wagner jumper with 42 seconds left. Oklahoma Baptist missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Wagner came off the bench to lead Harding with 26 points. He was 9 of 18 from the field. Ward made five 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Adam Horn scored eight points and had a season-high 13 rebounds.

Freshman Harrison Stoddart led Oklahoma Baptist with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Brantly Thompson and Vladimir Nemcok had 15 each.

Oklahoma Baptist shot only 29 percent (21 of 73) and was 5 of 32 (16 percent) from 3-point range. Thompson made all five of his team’s 3-pointers. The rest of the team was 0 of 22.

Harding shot 38 percent overall and made 12 3-pointers.

Harding won for the third time in its last four games and moved to within three games of the final GAC Tournament spot with six games remaining. The Bisons will be back at home Saturday to host nationally ranked Southern Nazarene.

Oklahoma Baptist (9-13, 6-10) remained winless in its four trips to Searcy and is one game out of the last tournament spot.

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Today on the GAC Weekly, we get to hear from Oklahoma Baptist football coach Chris Jensen and Arkansas Tech volleyball player Hunter Eshanur.

GAC Weekly Sept. 28, 2016

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