OBU drops home game ahead of tourney

ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist’s men’s basketball team fell at home 80-71 Thursday to a pesky Central Baptist College team.

The Tigers led the game by one point at halftime and kept the game close throughout. A layup by Matt Stanley, a 6-8 freshman from Cabot High School, with 3:15 remaining cut Central Baptist’s lead to two points, but the Tigers were unable to take control of the game.

The Mustangs then scored eight unanswered points on their way to the nine-point victory. It marked the second straight season CBC defeated an NCAA Division II opponent after the Mustangs topped Southern Arkansas a year ago. Central Baptist competes in the American Midwest Conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

CBC’s Tony Brewster, a senior from Valley View High School, tied for the game high in points with 21, including 19 in the second half. Brewster helped to ice the game late, making 12 of 12 free throws.

Senior TeShawn Sims, of Conway, and Jon Warren, a junior from Delaware, added

17 and 15 points, respectively. The Mustangs shot 52.3 percent, 23-for-44, overall in the game, including 40.9,

9-for-22, on 3-pointers and

83.3 percent, 25-for-30, at the free throw line.

Junior Matthew Ward, of Charleston, scored 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 6-for-9 from distance, to lead the Tigers. The rest of the team combined to shoot

2-for-13 on 3-pointers. Stanley added 16 points and tied for the team lead with Mahlon Martin, a junior from Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock, with five rebounds. Grant Jones, a

6-7 true freshman from Glen Rose High School, scored 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

The Tigers will try to rebound this weekend in the Holiday Classic at UA-Fort Smith. OBU is scheduled to play UA-Fort Smith Friday at 8 p.m. and Rogers State on Saturday at 3 p.m.. Both games will be held in the Lions’ Stubblefield Center.

Ouachita Baptist is scheduled to resume Great American Conference play on Jan.

4 in Durant, Okla., against Southeastern Oklahoma State.