Oklahoma Baptist 74 Wayne State 61

            In a battle of NCAA Division II Tournament teams from last season, Oklahoma Baptist used 33 points from Valdosta State transfer Burke Putnam to power the Bison past Wayne State College 74-61 at the GAC/NSIC Challenge in the men's basketball opener for both teams Friday evening at the Noble Complex in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
            The game was close at halftime with the host Bison holding a 31-29 advantage.  But the Bison used an 18-4 run early in the second half to take control of the contest.
            The first half was close with five ties and six lead changes.  After Oklahoma Baptist opened with a 12-4 lead, WSC went on a 10-0 run and took a 14-12 lead on a pair of Justin Eagins free throws with 10:03 to play in the half. 
            Neither team held a lead of more than two points until the final 20 seconds of the half as Oklahoma Baptist finished with a 31-29 lead at intermission.
            OBU opened the second half with a 36-32 lead, but WSC countered with an Eagins trey and a Jordan Janssen basket to take their final lead of the game at 37-36 with 16:45 to play.
            The host Bison went on a 18-4 run, highlighted by three straight 3-pointers, and took a 54-41 lead.  OBU pushed the lead to 17 at 62-45 and maintained a double digit advantage the rest of the game to close with a 74-61 win.
            Wayne State was led by Janssen's 18 points on 9-13 shooting.  Also hitting double figures for the Wildcats were Eagins with 13 and Alec Millender 11.
            WSC made 27 of 66 shots in the game (40.9%) but was just 4 of 22 behind the arc for 18.2 percent.  The Wildcats were 3 of 4 from the foul stripe.
            Valdosta State transfer Burke Putnam poured in a game-high 33 points for the Bison, making 14 of 21 shots from the field.  Nigel Wilcox contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Harrison Stoddart and Brantly Thompson each scored 10 points.
            Oklahoma Baptist connected on 32 of 62 shots for 51.6 percent, going 8 for 23 from the 3-point line and 2 of 4 at the charity stripe.
            OBU held a 39-31 edge in rebounding over the Wildcats as both teams grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.  Janssen and Cody McCullough each hauled in six boards for WSC. 
            The Wildcats play another game Saturday at the GAC/NSIC Challenge facing Southeastern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m. in Shawnee, Oklahoma.