OBU Loses Two at WBU

January 18, 2005

The first leg of Oklahoma Baptist University's two-game trip to Texas started with a thud as the Bison hoopsters suffered their first sweep of the season at the hands of Wayland Baptist Thursday night. 

OBU's men lost a hard-fought 79-76 decision after the Lady Bison dropped a 57-50 effort in the opener.

After seven lead changes, the Bison and Pioneers were tied 37-37 at halftime.

The Bison trailed 71-58 with 7:13 left in the game, but battled back.

Leonard Mosley, Robert Hart and Justin Benson all scored in an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 71-66 with 5:04 left.

After a Nate Bridges basket, Mosley and Hart scored back-to-back buckets to trim the deficit to 73-70 with 2:48 left.

WBU received back-to-back 3-pointers by Kendall Webb and Clifton Clarida to make it a 79-70 bulge with 1:55 to play.

Hart scored after sprinting down the court and Bailey Jones fought for a basket underneath for a five-point spread. Hart then stole a pass and scored and was fouled but missed the free throw with 40 seconds remaining.

When WBU missed on their end with only three seconds left, all OBU could hope for was a missed 3-point try by Mosley from near half-court.

"I was proud of our guys and the effort they gave," said Bison coach Doug Tolin. "You have to give Wayland credit. They hit two big 3-pointers near the end."

Hart was the team leader with 23 points and nine rebounds, despite standing just 5-foot-10. He hit seven of 12 shots from the floor and eight of nine free throws.

Also in double figures for the Bison (12-3, 1-2) were Mosley with 14, Justin Benson with 12 and Mike Fraser with 10.

OBU hit 50.9 percent (29-57) of its field goals and 83.3 percent (15-18) of its charity tosses but committed 18 turnovers to just 10 for Wayland.

Wayland (12-3, 2-2) knocked down 43.5 percent (30-69) of its field goals, including just 25.8 percent (8-31) from 3-point range.

The OBU women dropped their second straight game after a 12-0 start, despite battling back from a 10-point deficit in the second half.

Wayland Baptist had a 45-39 lead with 8:23 left in the game, but OBU pulled within 45-42 just 43 seconds later when Rachel Heins sank one free throw and Priscila Alves added two.

A Christa Condron trey put the Queens back up 50-44 and the lead was still six before Eaton hit a free throw and Trena Robbins buried a 3-pointer to pull within 52-50 with 1:15 left in the game.

But that trey was the last scoring for the Lady Bison and WBU closed on a 5-0 run for the final margin.

Eaton led OBU with 14 points and was the game's only double-figure scorer.

The taller Lady Bison were outrebounded 44-31 and in the second half shot just 32.1 percent.

Now 1-2 in the SAC, the OBU women will play Saturday at Lubbock Christian University, which leads the SAC at 4-0 after a buzzer-beater victory over John Brown Thursday.

Saturday's women's game will begin at 1 p.m.