Oklahoma Baptist University Men’s Head Basketball Coach Jason Eaker has been having his guard Ethan Scott wear a dri-fit shirt with the saying ‘More Than a Shooter.’
Scott, a 5-10 junior known in the past for his spot-up long-range shooting, has gone through some hard knocks during his collegiate career, particularly when his season was cut short last year after only nine games due to a torn MCL.
Scott has apparently taken the ‘More Than a Shooter’ to heart after scoring a game-high 21 points, handing out three assists and recording two steals as the Bison improved to 2-1 on the young season with a 96-77 victory over the Arlington Baptist Patriots Thursday night at the OBU Noble Complex.
The win was the 100th in Coach Eaker’s career at OBU and Scott played a big role in helping him achieve that milestone.
“Ethan had a great offseason, has a phenomenal attitude and is a joy to coach,” Eaker said.
On his way to the 21 points, Scott connected for a career-high five 3-pointers before halftime and added to that in finishing with seven for the game as he was 7-of-15 from outside the arc.
“The emphasis for this season was playing off my shot, fake and create plays for the other guys,” said Scott. “This time they found me (for shots),”
Scott smiled when questioned about the shirt.
“Coach wanted to reiterate about getting other guys to play off me,” Scott said.
Scott was one of four double-digit scorers for the Bison as two of them registered double-doubles.
Terry Coner Jr. followed with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point land. He also recorded a pair of steals to go with three rebounds.
Nathan Wilson and TJ Strong had the double-doubles for OBU as Wilson netted 13 points and 16 rebounds while Strong, who played just under 19 minutes for the game, ended up with 12 points and 10 boards.
The key for the Bison Thursday was domination on the glass as the Bison owned a 54-35 rebounding advantage with 22 on the offensive end.
“Our No. 1 goal was dominating the glass, especially the offensive glass. That’s where we won the game,” said Eaker. We also had 29 second-chance points.”
JC Curry and Daniel Ransom followed with nine points apiece for OBU. Efe Sekeroglu chipped in seven. Riley McGuirk knocked down one trey and Ricky Brown and Zion Mitchell each tacked on one
free throw to round out the Bison scoring.
Arlington Baptist led just 31 seconds in the game, an early 4-3 edge.
But OBU went on top for good with a 7-0 run to make it 10-4. A basket each by Wilson and Coner Jr., followed by a Ransom free shot and a Ransom bucket off the offensive glass led to that six-point lead with 17:09 to go in the first half.
Leading 20-12, the Bison increased their advantage after Coner Jr. drained a 3-pointer off a kick-out pass from Wilson, Brown scored off another Wilson feed to make it 25-12. Two free throws by Strong and a steal and layup by Curry pushed the OBU lead to 29-14 with 10:46 to go in the first.
From there the Bison were never threatened.
OBU settled for a 54-40 halftime lead and eventually built its biggest cushion of 24 points (79-55) with 11:18 left when Wilson scored off a Scott feed.
John Gray led the Patriots with 15 points off the bench while starters Isaiah Melvo and Ahmad Webster finished with 13 apiece.
The next action for the Bison will be Friday, Nov. 22, at Newman University in Wichita, Kan.
