OBU suffers two losses in tourney

FORT SMITH — Ouachita Baptist could not overcome a 10-point halftime deficit as Rogers State rolled to a 62-50 win over the Tigers Saturday in the second day of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Holiday Classic at the Stubblefield Center.

The Tigers (5-5) fell behind early as the Hillcats blazed to a 26-6 advantage in the first 10 minutes, never giving up their lead. Rogers State picked up over half of its points off the bench, tallying 34 of the team’s 62 bench points.

Ouachita Baptist had strong bench play as well, picking up half of its points from starters. Reserve Wesley Franklin paced the Tigers with 13, the only player from OBU to reach double-digit scoring. Franklin added two blocked shots, two assists and one rebound. Aitor Lopez-Breton added seven points with two blocked shots and two rebounds, but Jordan Corbitt’s 11 defensive rebounds led the team, despite his four points. Corbitt also packed the stat lines with five assists and a steal.

The Hillcats’ Chase Littlejohn scored all his team-high 12 points in the blistering opening volley, all from distance as he hit 4 of 6 from

3-point range. Saint Hilaire and Gabriel Ferrerira each added 10 for Rogers State (8-3) to combine for 32 of the bench’s 34 points.

Tate Turner helped to pace the Hillcats early, hitting two treys, including the game’s first points, and Ferreira capped the Rogers State run with a layup to make it 26-6 with 10:02 remaining before the break.

The Hillcats took their largest lead of the game with 3:46 remaining after a pair of Tavian Davis free throws to make it 35-14, but an 11-0 run by the Tigers cut the deficit to pull within 35-25 at halftime.

OBU opened the second half with Franklin nailing a layup, but it was as close as the Tigers would get for the remainder of the game.

The Tigers finished the game with 18 of 46 shooting, 39.1 percent, and hit only 2 of 13 from distance, 15.4 percent), but the Tigers were

1 of 4 for 3-point shooting in the second half. The Tigers struggled from the line, shooting 12 of 18 for 66.7 percent while the Hillcats hit

20 of 31 from the line.

Saturday’s loss came off an 85-70 slipup to fifth-ranked UA-Fort Smith the tournament.

The back-and-forth affair featured six lead changes, the Tigers coming out of the break to take the lead after trailing by one at halftime. A layup with 15:38 remaining gave the Lions a 46-45 lead that they never relinquished.

OBU had three in double-digits, Jontavis Willis and Jordan Corbitt pacing the team with 13, and Matt Stanley added 11 points. The Tigers hit 11 from distance in the game, but a 35-percent conversion rate was not enough to keep a win in reach.

The Tigers will have a break over the holidays before traveling to Durant, Okla., on Jan. 4 to face Southeastern Oklahoma State University.