MEN'S SEMIFINALS
OUACHITA BAPTIST 83, EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) 80
At a glance
GAC TOURNAMENT
Bruin Fieldhouse, Bartlesville, Okla.
SATURDAY’S MEN’S SEMIFINALS
(3) Ouachita Baptist 83, (2) East Central (Okla.) 80
(1) Harding 97, (5) Southern Arkansas 83
SATURDAY’S WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS
(3) SW Oklahoma State 79, (7) East Central (Okla.) 63
(1) Arkansas Tech 99, (4) So. Arkansas 85
TODAY’S GAMES
All times Central
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Harding vs. (3) Ouachita Baptist, 1 p.m.
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Arkansas Tech vs. (3) SW Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m.
Justin McClearly scored a team-high 21 points as third-seeded Ouachita Baptist (17-12) advanced to today's championship game with a victory over No. 2 seed and conference co-champion East Central (Okla.).
OBU trailed 18-11 with nine minutes remaining in the first half, but two three-pointers by McCleary gave the Tigers a 29-27 lead with three minutes left. East Central tied the game at 31-31, but OBU closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 38-31 halftime lead.
Another three-pointer by McCleary and a Tirrell Brown layup gave OBU a 43-33 lead early in the second half. East Central cut the lead with consecutive three-pointers to trail 56-54 with 11:20 left. Free throws by David Berete and Lakee Westbrook kept the OBU lead at six late in the game. McCleary hit one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to give OBU an 83-77 lead. East Central responded with a three-pointer and had a chance to tie the game after OBU missed two free throws, but ECU turned the ball over on the inbounds pass.
Brown finished with 18 points, while Westbrook had 16, Berete scored 12 and Carben Holcombe finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Stirling Thomas led East Central (22-7) with 23 points, Braxton Reeves had 13 and Aly Hudgins chipped in 10.
HARDING 97,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 83
Jacob Gibson scored 40 points on 12-of-20 field goal shooting, including 5 of 8 three-pointers, to lead conference co-champion Harding (20-9) to the championship game against Ouachita Baptist following its semifinal victory over Southern Arkansas (17-13).
Gibson was also 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, where the Bisons shot 82 percent (32 of 39). Harding also hit 7 of 22 (32 percent) three-pointers and shot 51 percent from the floor to offset SAU's 42-33 rebounding edge and 44-36 advantage in points in the lane. The Muleriders shot 45 percent from the floor, hitting 5 of 24 three-pointers (21 percent), and went 12 of 21 (57 percent) from the free-throw line.
Harding led throughout and enjoyed a 17-point lead several times early in the second half.
Will Francis scored 12 of his 18 points for Harding at the free throw line. Reggie Anthony also had 18 points for the Bisons on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Stefan Andelkovic added 12 points. Deon Andrews led SAU with 17 points and Jaron Davis had 16.
WOMEN'S SEMIFINAL
ARKANSAS TECH 99, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 85
Fatima Adams scored 43 points on 19-of-27 shooting from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds as Arkansas Tech (25-3) advanced to today's championship game against No. 3 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State with a victory over Southern Arkansas (19-9).
Both teams shot well from the floor. The Golden Suns shot 46.7 percent (35 of 75) for the game, including 48.8 percent in the first half as they led 51-41. The Lady Muleriders shot 45.3 percent (29 of 64) from the floor, including 46.4 percent in the first half. Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor in the second half. Arkansas Tech outrebounded SAU 49-38 and outscored the Lady Muleriders 54-40 in the lane.
Bre Brooks and Kelsey McClure scored 14 points each for Arkansas Tech. Rosa Bryant scored 27 points to lead SAU, while Tierra Tucker and Caroline Ficher scored 12 each.
Sports on 03/06/2016