Bison Use Second-Half Spurt To Edge St. Gregory's

Oklahoma Baptist's Chase Adams scored a team-high 23 points as the No. 9-ranked Bison used a second-half run to defeat rival St. Gregory's 71-61 Thursday night at W.P. Wood Field House. Adams was 9 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc as the Bison won for the fifth time in six games.

OBU (19-4, 7-2 SAC) shot 64 percent in the second half and 52 percent overall. The Cavs, meanwhile, were held to 39 percent from the floor. It was SGU's 10th consecutive loss.

Cavalier senior Fayzon Richey, who eclipsed 2,000 career points last week, scored a game-high 24 points. Devonte Young was the only other SGU player in double figures, scoring 10 points. OBU's David Johnson had 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting.

OBU led 30-28 after a back-and-forth first half. The Bison sprinted out to a 10-3 lead five minutes in after SGU made only one of its first nine shots. The Cavs then answered with an 11-0 spurt to go up 14-10 after holding OBU scoreless for nearly six minutes.

The momentum switched hands again when the visitors scored 13 of the game's next 15 to go up seven, and on cue, SGU returned the favor by going on a 10-3 run to tie it at 26 with 1:25 left.

The Cavs shot only 29 percent compared to the Bison's 43 percent in the first 20 minutes. But the home team was 12-for-14 from the line, while OBU made only 2 of 10. Adams had 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting to lead all scorers at the break.

The nip-and-tuck exchange continued nearly midway into the second half until the visitors began to put together their decisive run. Up 43-40 at the 11:40 mark, the Bison scored on six of their next eight possessions during a 12-1 spurt to gain a 55-41 advantage with 8:13 left. Six different OBU players scored during that stretch.

The Cavs got no closer than nine the rest of the way.