Article Date
November 7, 2005
Oklahoma Baptist University's 22nd-ranked Bison basketball team shot 67 percent from the field in the second half to put away a scrappy Central Bible College squad 85-66 Monday night in the Noble Complex.
OBU never trailed in the game, but never had more than a nine-point lead in the first half as the Spartans executed their offense well, scoring nearly a third of their points on lay-ups in the first half.
"I think you have to start giving them some credit," said OBU coach Doug Tolin. "We weren't prepared for this game, but while they don't overwhelm you with talent, they have very good basketball skills and they executed their game plan."
CBC closed to within a point with 5:41 left in the first half, but OBU closed with a 39-35 halftime lead.
It was still a one-possession game with 16:30 left in the game before Julius Hurd and Frank Benson led the Bison on a 10-2 run for a 55-44 advantage with 14:02 left to play.
OBU used a 9-0 run with scoring from Jason Bray, Kortney Smith, Hurd and Matt Canady for a 68-52 lead with 7:37 to play.
The lead swelled to 81-61 on a personal 4-0 run by Smith with 2:31 left in the game.
Benson led OBU with 27 points, followed by Hurd with 20 and Smith with 11. Smith also had seven assists while Benson had a team-best seven rebounds.
The Bison shot 57 percent from the field for the game and forced 25 turnovers.
Will Kitchen and Tim Perkins had 18 points each for the Spartans.
OBU, now 2-0, will host East Central University. The Homecoming doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m. with a women's game.
Central Bible drops to 1-1.