NCAA DIVISION II

OBU rides Brown to championship

Tirrell Brown had another big game in leading Ouachita Baptist to another big one.

The senior, a first-team all-conference selection, scored the first seven points Sunday and finished with 24 as the Tigers beat Harding 72-56 in the Great American Conference Tournament championship Sunday in Bartlesville, Okla.

Brown was named the tournament MVP after averaging 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 64.9 percent from the floor for the third-seeded Tigers, who advanced to their s̶e̶c̶o̶n̶d̶ ̶N̶C̶A̶A̶ ̶D̶i̶v̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶I̶I̶ ̶T̶o̶u̶r̶n̶a̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶ t̶h̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶s̶ first NCAA Division II basketball tournament since 2008.*

Both OBU and Harding will play in the Division II Tournament in the Central Region.

OBU (19-12) earned a No. 7 seed and will play Northwest Missouri State on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Harding (20-10) earned an at-large berth and will play top seed and regional host Augustana (S.D.) on Saturday.

Brown had 21 points and 7 rebounds in a first-round victory over Southern Nazarene, and had 18 points and 9 rebounds in a semifinal victory over East Central (Okla.).

Lakee Westbrook and Mahlon Martin each scored 10 points for the Tigers, who won despite shooting 18.5 percent (5 of 27) in the second half and 39.0 percent for the game (23 of 59).

OBU was able to do that thanks to a big first half in which it made 18 of 32 shots (56.3 percent) in the first half while building a 48-25 halftime lead.

Brown scored the first seven points to give OBU a 7-0 lead, and after Harding fought back to take a 16-15 lead, OBU went on a 26-3 run over seven minutes that gave it a 41-19 lead with 3:38 left.

Harding, the tournament's No. 1 seed, opened the second half on a 20-4 run, cutting the deficit to 52-45 with 13:30 left after a Will Francis jumper. But Westbrook answered with a jumper and Harding missed its next five shots from the field to miss out on a chance to get closer.

Stefan Andelkovic led Harding with 15 points, while Blake McNair had 12. Jacob Gibson, who had 40 in Saturday's semifinal victory over Southern Arkansas, was held to 8 points on 3 for 14 shooting, making only 1 of 9 three-pointers. Harding was held to 29.7 percent from the field and was 8 of 33 from three-point range.

GAC WOMEN

ARKANSAS TECH 106, SW OKLAHOMA STATE 85

Fatima Adams finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead top-seeded Arkansas Tech past third-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State in the GAC women's tournament final in Bartlesville, Okla.

Adams shot 14 of 22 from the floor and set a GAC Tournament scoring record with 88 points in three games. She had 43 points against Southern Arkansas on Saturday and 11 on Friday against Arkansas-Monticello. Adams held the previous tournament record with 74 points in 2015.

On Sunday, Adams accounted for 26 of Arkansas Tech's 53 points to help the Golden Suns lead 53-46 at halftime.

Arkansas Tech (26-3) earned the No. 6 seed in the Central Region and will play Missouri Western on Friday in the NCAA Division II Tournament in Pittsburg, Kan. Pittsburg State, the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, is the regional host while Emporia State is the top seed.

Bre Brooks had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the Golden Suns. Anissa Pounds had 19 points and Calli White added 12 points.

Hailey Tucker led Southwestern Oklahoma (20-11) with 21 points.

HEARTLAND MEN

DALLAS BAPTIST 89, ARK.-FORT SMITH 83, OT

Top-seeded Arkansas-Fort Smith (23-8) blew a 14-point second-half lead and lost to third-seeded Dallas Baptist (23-8) in overtime in the Heartland Conference men's tournament final in Tulsa.

The Lions led 57-43 with 11:49 left in the second half after Kenny Martin hit a three-pointer. But the Patriots tied the game at 76-76 with five seconds left on Patrick Burke's layup. Alex Cooper's three-point attempt for UAFS with two seconds left did not fall and the game went to overtime.

Burke gave Dallas Baptist an 82-80 lead with 2:09 left in overtime and the Patriots held the Lions without a field goal the rest of overtime. Dallas Baptist was led by Burke with 35 points.

Cooper led UAFS with 22 points. DaVaunta Thomas had 21 points while Dusan Stojanovic added 14 points.

Despite Sunday's loss, UAFS earned an at-large berth in the Division II Tournament. The Lions are the sixth seed and will play third-seeded Angelo State on Saturday in Wichita Falls, Texas. Midwestern State is the regional host.

Sports on 03/07/2016

*CORRECTION: The Ouachita Baptist men’s basketball team will be playing Saturday in its first NCAA Division II basketball tournament since 2008. This article incorrectly stated the last time OBU reached the Division II playoffs.

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