C of O Sweeps Past Arkansas Baptist

The College of the Ozarks Basketball teams return home to get a couple of wins over Arkansas Baptist Tuesday.

The Lady Bobcats rolled to a 76-39 win while the Bobcats avenged an earlier loss to the Buffalos earning a 79-75 triumph. 

Complete details on both games below from College of the Ozarks Sports Information:

C of O Women 76 Arkansas Baptist 39

The College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats returned to the friendly confines of Keeter Gymnasium Tuesday night to take on Arkansas Baptist College.  The Lady Bobcats had defeated the Buffalo in Little Rock on January 29th in a lopsided contest, 80-41.  Arkansas Baptist came to Point Lookout looking to change that outcome in the second meeting.

Arkansas Baptist jumped on the board quick with a three by Anna Kassim but Jordan Wersinger answered for the Lady Cats to start a 6-0 run. Arkansas Baptist challenged the Lady Cats, but a balanced attack led to an early lead. Both teams struggled offensively after the initial scoring burst, but the Lady Cats slowly built their lead.  A Kyra Hardesty three put the Lady Cats up 9-5 with 6:44 remaining in the opening frame. Kayley Frank followed with a basket to put the Lady Cats up 11-5 and both teams went cold from the field. Neither team would score until Anna Kassim found the bottom of the net for Arkansas Baptist with 2:18 left to play. Aaliyah Bynum added a jumper to cut the Lady Cat lead to 11-9 before Kayley Frank broke the Lady Cat scoring drought at the 1:14 mark. Going over three minutes without scoring, the Lady Cats had relied on their defense to maintain control of a narrow lead. Kyra Hardesty connected from long range with :29 left on the clock and the Lady Cats led 16-9 after the first quarter.

Jordan Wersinger started the second quarter scoring with a conventional three-point play and the Lady Cats reached their largest lead, 19-9. Arkansas Baptist refused to go away and continued to battle. Another Bynum basket cut into the lead, but Blythe Benefield went on an 8-0 run with a basket and a pair of threes to extend the lead to 27-15. Arkansas Baptist took a timeout to regroup and it seemed to cool off the offense for both teams. Neither team would score for the next 2:31. Ariel Jefferson broke through for Arkansas Baptist with 3:54 left in the half and cut the lead back to nine with a traditional three-point play. The Lady Cats were unable to find the bottom of the net until a Jada Henry basket at the 2:35 mark. Arkansas Baptist continued to chip away at the lead and whittled it down to single digits with :13 left in the half.  Jada Henry connected on a pair of free throws with :07 remaining and a desperation shot by Arkansas Baptist came up short to send the Lady Cats to the intermission leading 33-22. 

The third quarter was all Lady Cats. Jordan Wersinger opened the scoring with a pair of baskets, but Arkansas Baptist matched the output. Wersinger and Frank then combined for eight unanswered points to force an Arkansas Baptist timeout. Samiyah Brown broke the Baffalo drought but the Lady Cat attack continued. This time Kayley Frank had the hot hand, carrying the Lady Cats to a 14-2 run, scoring 10 points in the stretch. Wersinger and Noah each added a basket to give the Lady Cats a 56-30 lead heading into the final break.

Blythe Benefield opened the fourth quarter scoring and the Lady Cats were set to cruise through the final 10 minutes. Arkansas Baptist was determined to continue battling but the Lady Cats had a different plan. Katie Mayes, Cameran Martin and Jada Henry continued the Lady Cat offensive attack and with 3:49 remaining in the game, the lead had grown to 72-37. The Lady Cat defense continued to stifle the Buffalo and Cameran Martin finished off the Lady Cat scoring with the final four points to secure the 76 -39 win.

The win gave the Lady Cats their fifth in a row and their 10th in their last 11 contests. Jordan Wersinger led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Kayley Frank with 17, and Blythe Benefield with 10. Kyra Hardesty added eight points while Jada Henry, Katie Mayes, and Cameran Martin each tacked on six. Annie Noah contributed four to go with her nine rebounds in the win.
 

C of O Men 79 Arkansas Baptist 75

After a tough stretch of road games, the Bobcats were glad to be back on their home court in Keeter Gymnasium Tuesday night. The Bobcats squared off against an athletic and talented Arkansas Baptist team that had handed them a 90-62 loss in Little Rock on January 29. Looking at the results of the earlier meeting, it would have been easy to think the Bobcats were outmatched in this contest. The Bobcats on the other hand, had moved past the earlier loss and they were prepared for the rematch. 

The game appeared to be a shootout from the opening tip as the two teams traded threes to start the game. Five of the first six baskets were from beyond the arc and it seemed that neither team could miss. With 4:12 off the clock, Blaine Cline nailed a pair of free throws to put the Bobcats up 12-9. A traditional three-point play by Isayah West tied the score at 12-12 and that started a Buffalo run of 10 unanswered points and put the Bobcats in a 19-12 hole. It looked as though Arkansas Baptist was set to pull away, but a Josh Linehan basket broke the streak and cut the deficit to five. Another 5-2 stretch by Arkansas Baptist increased the gap to 24-16 and the Bobcats needed a timeout to regroup. Matt Luebbert scored, and Garrett Simmerman sank a three ball out of the huddle to cut the deficit to three with 9:17 remaining in the half. Moments later, a Josh Linehan three tied the score at 27 and the tug of war was on. Neither team was willing to give up ground and the teams played to a 33-33 tie with 3:32 left to play in the half.  Arkansas Baptist was able to create a little space as time ran down in the half and the Bobcats trailed 39-35 at the break.

The teams picked up right where they had left off as the second half began. Arkansas Baptist was able to slowly build their lead, but the Bobcats continued to battle. A Blaine Cline jumper with 15:20 remaining cut the gap to 49-43, but the Bobcats couldn’t seem to get over the hump.  Solid Bobcat defense led to a couple of stops and Andrew Mitchell knocked down a three to get the Bobcats within three, 49-46. Arkansas Baptist then took a timeout to try and break the Bobcat momentum. The timeout was ineffective, and Josh Linehan and Garrett Simmerman combined to cut the gap to one, 51-50.  The Bobcats continued to challenge but each time, Arkansas Baptist responded. The tug of war continued with Arkansas Baptist maintaining a slight advantage. Point for point the Bobcats kept pace but could not find a way to overtake the Buffalo. A Blaine Cline drive in the lane for a short jumper cut the lead to one, 67-66 and there was a feel that the momentum was shifting. Arkansas Baptist took a timeout, but Cline scored a traditional three-point play on the next Bobcat possession and C of O had their first lead since early in the contest. Throughout the second half, it felt as though the Bobcats just needed to find a way to take the lead in order to record the win. With the lead now on the side of the home team, The Bobcats needed to make plays and maintain composure.  They had battled through the game and time would tell if their effort would pay off. Point after point the two teams traded jabs and the Bobcats continued to hold their slim advantage. Controlling the tempo and scoring when needed, the Bobcats were in control and Arkansas Baptist was on the ropes. Things got interesting when Isayah West connected on two free throws with :59 remaining and the score sitting at 76-75, Bobcats. The Bobcats had possession of the ball and simply needed to protect it. Arkansas Baptist was forced to foul as time ran down and Blaine Cline connected on one of two free throws. The second free throw rattled out and the win was sealed on a Garrett Simmerman rebound and putback to give the Bobcats a four-point advantage with just five seconds remaining. The final shot attempt by Arkansas Baptist fell short and the Bobcats secured the 79-75 win.

The Bobcats continued their string of hot shooting as they shot 52.5% from the field and 47.4% from three-point land. They also won the rebounding edge 37-33 and limited turnovers to four in the second half to work their way to the win.

The Bobcats had four score in double figures, with Blaine Cline leading the way with 22, Josh Linehan scored 16, Andrew Mitchell poured in 12, and Matt Luebbert chipped in 10. Garrett Simmerman and Tanner Rogers each added seven, and Kyle Flavin tacked on five.

Both C of O teams will be back in action this Saturday when they host Baptist Bible College in 1:00 and 3:00 games.