Tiger Basketball vs. Ozarks

BASKETBALL: (W): MARSHALL, Texas – Down 10 points with just over nine minutes to play in the first half, East Texas Baptist University erupted for a 24-4 run to take 10-point halftime lead that led to the 72-60 win over the University of the Ozarks (10-10/6-8). ETBU’s defense held the Ozarks to just one bucket in that time frame as they took over the game in an American Southwest Conference East Division matchup keeping their hopes alive for the post-season tournament.

The win pushed ETBU to 12-8 overall and 7-7 in the ASC East as four players were in double figures. Jaimie Kadlecek led the way with 14 points and three assists hitting three three-pointers. Mary Slaughter finished with 13 points and two blocks while Brandace Latin had 12 points and nine rebounds and Paigen Gilford added 10 points. Amanda Rucker brought down nine rebounds and also gave ETBU four assists with two steals in 23 minutes of play.

Ozarks had ETBU in a bind in the first 10 minutes of the game holding them to just nine points. Kadlecek put ETBU into double digits with a three-pointer at the 10:03 mark cutting the Ozarks lead to seven, 19-12. Ozarks went on a 5-2 run in just 50 seconds putting their lead back at 10, 24-14, before ETBU’s offense lit a fire and their defense kicked it up a notch.

In the next nine minutes, ETBU changed the momentum of the game with a 24-4 run to end the half only allowing the Ozarks one bucket with 43 seconds left in the half. Taylor Farmer, who led the team with 23 points, scored all four points with two free throws at the 2:24 mark.

Latin started the run with a three-pointer to bring the lead down to seven at the 8:29 mark and then Patrice Parker made both free throws as the score dropped to 24-19. Parker followed with a jumper 40 seconds later that put ETBU within three, 24-21, and then April Leonard swooshed in a three-pointer to tie the game at 24 with 6:08 left to play.

Kadlecek gave ETBU the lead for good on a layup (5:54) and then 44 seconds later added another three-pointer to extend the lead to five, 29-24. At the 3:35 mark, Slaughter banked in a layup for a seven-point lead as ETBU had scored 17 straight points. Farmer ended the Ozarks scoring drought at the 2:24 mark with two free throws but Latin made the team’s third three-pointer in the run to make it 34-26. With 1:50 left in the half, Latin scored her eighth point in the run on a layup for the 10-point lead, 36-26. The final bucket of the half came for ETBU with 58 seconds left as Latin put in her 10th point of the 24 points scored by ETBU as the Tigers took a 12-point lead, 38-26. Farmer then broke the no bucket silence for the Ozarks with 43 seconds left as ETBU took a 10-point lead at the half, 38-28.

The Ozarks started the second half on a 14-10 run to come within six, 48-42, with 15:04 left in the game but that is as close as they would come to ETBU. In the next seven minutes, ETBU went on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 16, 60-44, as Kadlecek hit her third three-pointer of the day. The lead never fell below 11 points and ETBU had their largest lead of 18, 70-52, with 2:17 left on a Slaughter layup.

ETBU finished shooting 39% from the floor and made 46% of their shots in the first half. The three-pointer fell in 40% of the time and went 6-of-13 in the first half (46%). They also shot 61% from the stripe. Ozarks shot 36% from the floor, 25% from the arc, and 55% from the foul line. ETBU also won the rebounding battle by 20 rebounds, 54-34.

ETBU will host Texas-Dallas in their final home game of the year on Saturday, February 2nd, at 1:00 p.m. in senior day.



Six Players Score in Double Figures in ASC Win Over UO

BASKETBALL (M): MARSHALL, Texas – A close game turned into a blowout in the final eight minutes of the game as East Texas Baptist University went on a 25-5 run to take the American Southwest Conference East Division game, 97-78, over the University of the Ozarks (6-14/3-11). The win is the second in a row for ETBU as they improve to 9-11 and 5-9 in the ASC East keeping their post-season hopes alive.

Jaron Joseph scored eight of his 20 points in that run as Kerry McClahan added six of 13 points. Joseph shot 8-of-12 from the floor and made two three-pointers overall. McClahan shot 60% from the floor and was one rebound short of a double-double with nine.

ETBU had six players in double figures as Justin Felicia added 12 points and nine rebounds. Erby Thompson, who hit two three-pointers had 11 points and both Junior Mitchell and C.J. Sweet brought 10 points each to the game. Thompson also posted six assists while Mitchell had five. The Ozarks Ronnie Dodd led all scorers with 30 points.

With 16 lead changes and the score being tied nine times, the score does not indicate how close the game really was. ETBU had an eight point lead at the half, 53-45, only to see the Ozarks start the second half on a 12-2 run for a two-point lead, 57-55. ETBU answered with a 7-0 run for a five-point lead on an Eric Horton shot. Sweet started the run with one of his two three-pointers in the game to take the one-point lead, 58-57. Grays added two free throws before Horton’s shot for the five-point lead.

The Ozarks battled back to tie the game for the seventh time at 62 and an eighth time at 67 after ETBU had another five point lead, 67-62. ETBU was down two, 69-67, when Joseph made four of the next five ETBU buckets to start the big run to win the game. After the Ozarks took the two-point lead, 69-67, Joseph went coast-to-coast with a fast-break layup to tie the game at 69 with 10:16 left to play. Just 38 seconds later, he swooshed in a jumper for the two-lead, 71-69. Dodd made 1-of-2 at the foul line for the Ozarks to trim the lead to one, 71-70, and ETBU’s Thompson also made one free throw to put the lead back at two. After an Ozarks three-pointer gave them the one-point lead, 73-72, Joseph sparked the 25-5 run making two of the next three buckets canning three-pointers. Thompson had a layup in between the three-pointers as ETBU had a seven-point lead, 80-73, with 7:22 left.

ETBU held the Ozarks to no baskets for four minutes as they went up 13 points, 86-73. Dodd broke that scoreless time at the 4:35 mark with a jumper as the last bucket made in the game. The final three-points for the Ozarks came on free throws as the Eagles only had one basket made in the final eight minutes.

Monty Grays gave ETBU a 16-point lead with1:51 left to play and added the largest lead of the game, 19 points, 97-78, with five seconds left to end the game.

The Ozarks largest lead came in the first half of four points, 24-20, but only lasted two minutes as ETBU went on an 11-5 run to take a two-point lead, 31-29. There were five ties in the first half with the last at 29. The 11-5 run turned into a 31-14 run for ETBU as they took a 13-point lead, 51-38, with 1:22 left in the half. ETBU finished the half after being down four, 24-20, outscoring the Ozarks, 33-21, for an eight-point lead at the half.

ETBU’s shooting was some of the best on the year as they made 54% of their shots from the floor, 52% from the arc, and 58% from the stripe. They held the Ozarks to 36% from the floor, 32% from three-point range, and 83% from the line. Both teams had 16 turnovers and ETBU had 42 rebounds to the Ozarks’ 34.

ETBU will host Texas-Dallas in their final home game of the year on Saturday, February 2nd, at 3:00 p.m. in senior day.



ETBU to Host Cancer Awareness Game

BASKETBALL (W): MARSHALL, Texas (1/31/13) – In combination with the American Southwest Conference’s "Make A Change” event, the East Texas Baptist University women’s basketball team will be playing in pink on Saturday raising awareness about cancer. The team will be wearing pink warm-ups before the game for the event.

"Our seniors for senior day, led by Leah Williams, wanted to do something special for their day so we bought some pink warm up shirts and raised funds within the team for the American Cancer Society,” says head coach Dustin Howard.

The cancer awareness game will coincide with the ASC’s "Make A Change” week as the ETBU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee generates funds for non-profits. The ETBU SAAC is currently raising funds for Mission Marshall and also doing a warm clothing drive. The women’s basketball team raised $300 for the American Cancer Society within their team.

"What the women’s basketball team is doing along with our ETBU SAAC group and the American Southwest Conference is great thing,” says ETBU SAAC advisor and director of sports information. "Our athletes have hearts to help others and bring awareness to the ETBU community about the need within our own town of Marshall and with cancer.”

The women’s basketball team will face the University of Texas-Dallas at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in their final home game of the year as seven seniors will be recognized.