First Half Struggles Doom Tigers Against Tarleton State

All Access, Basketball, Featured | January 1, 2013 by | 0 Comments

Courtesy Ouachita Baptist University Athletics Department

STEPHENVILLE, Tex.- A road game is never an easy one, no matter how good, or bad your opponent is. It’s even harder to capture a road victory when you only score 22 points in the first half, as the Ouachita Tigers (6-4) found out on Saturday, when they faced off with the Texans of Tarleton State University (7-2) and fell by a score of 74-67.

The OBU Tigers shot just 28.57 percent from the floor in the first half, which ultimately led to be the difference in Saturday’s contest. The Tigers cut the lead to as little as two points in the second half, but an ejection of Ouachita’s Nigel Ramsey in the second half hurt the team’s efforts. The Tigers held a 45-42 advantage in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 10 point deficit that they suffered in the first half of play.

Ouachita was led by Austin Mitchell, who finished the game with a game-high 20 points, as well as a team-high seven rebounds. Other notable scorers included Colt Fason and Julian LaDay, who finished with 15 and 12 points respectively.

Tarleton used a number of strong performances to fuel them to victory, including 17 points from De’Andre Upchurch, 14 points from Brian Word and 12 points from Coleman Furst. Jon Cathey-Macklin cleaned the boards with 11 rebounds in the game.

The Tigers only committed nine turnovers in the game, while forcing the Texans into 17, however a 42-33 deficit in rebounds might have countered the Tigers’ defensive efforts. Another key factor in the game was free throw shooting, especially in the second half. The Texans attempted 21 free throws in the second period of play, draining 20 of them for a 95.24 percent mark from the line. Ouachita only made eight of their 16 attempts in the period, for a 50 percent mark.

Ouachita continues their two game road swing on January 3, when they travel to Bethany, Oklahoma to face off with new conference opponent Southern Nazarene University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.