ARKADELPHIA -- Senior guard Mahlon Martin scored a career-high 29 points on Thursday evening as Ouachita Baptist defeated Arkansas Tech, 86-81, to open up Great American Conference play.
"They just told me to attack early," Martin said. "Coach (Dennis Nutt) has been telling me to get started early, not to wait on the game and that's what I did. I shot the first one of the night and, once I saw a couple of them go, in my confidence goes up."
The Tigers (4-1, 1-0) opened the game on an 11-2 run in the opening three minutes. The quick spurt forced Arkansas Tech (2-3, 0-1) to call an early timeout as three different Tigers connected on 3-point opportunities.
"We really got off to a great start," Nutt said. "Mahlon really shot well coming out of the gates and that allowed us to jump on them pretty quickly."
At the 12:56 mark in the first half, Martin took a pass from sophomore forward Matt Stanley and knocked down his third consecutive 3-pointer and fourth overall in the first half to give the Tigers a 27-10 lead. The Wonder Boys clicked on offense and closed the half on a 21-10 run.
At the 15:54 mark of the second half, Will Adler rattled in another 3-pointer and gave Arkansas Tech its first lead of the night at 46-44. Ouachita clawed ahead, 73-66, with 2:15 remaining.
Martin swatted away a layup attempt by Jacob Patterson to create a fast break on the other end. Trey Harris finished in transition and the Tigers hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Ouachita knocked down a season-high 14 3-pointers with Martin shooting 7-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot 51.9 percent from 3-point range and held Arkansas Tech to 39.5 percent from distance.
"He [Martin] has been fantastic ever since the Dallas Baptist game," Nutt said. "We all regrouped and he kind of took over a different role. He is leading not just scoring but also the tempo of the game, and I could not be more proud."
Harris added 18 points, while Kendarious Smith contributed 12 points. Senior forward Wesley Franklin the team in rebounds with 11.
Sophomore R.J. Glasper led the Wonder Boys with 25 points. Adler added 21 points and Alex Brown scored 14.
Ouachita travels today to take on Arkansas-Monticello (2-3) at 4:30 p.m.
Women
Ouachita Baptist's women's basketball team fell short in its Great American Conference opener Thursday against Arkansas Tech, 71-61, in Bill Vining Arena.
Arkansas Tech (3-2, 1-0) shot 40.8 percent from the field, had 50 rebounds and scored 40 points in the paint. Ouachita (2-4, 0-1) shot 36.5 percent, grabbed 38 rebounds and scored 34 points in the paint.
Ouachita junior guard Madison Brittain scored 15 points and had three assists, three rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Alivia Huell, of Malvern, notched her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tigers will play again today at 2 p.m. at Arkansas-Monticello (0-4, 0-1).
Sports on 12/01/2018