Clarksville, Ark.-Five players scored in double figures as the University of the Ozarks men's basketball team earned a 87-76 win over Henderson State University on Monday in Arkadelphia.
Ozarks (1-1) got balanced scoring and forced 17 turnovers to pick up their first win over Henderson State (0-3) since the 1994-95 season. Habeeb Kareem provided the Eagles with his first double-double of the year, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Eagles also took care of the ball, committing only 9 turnovers in the non-conference tilt.
The Eagles held a 46-37 edge at the half, thanks to nine different Ozarks players putting points on the board. Jeremy Clark led the charge with 11 first half points behind a 5-of-6 shooting performance from the field. Clark’s three-pointer at the 11:23 mark gave Ozarks a 23-17 advantage. Ozarks’ largest first half lead came when both Ted Beard and Chris Clark canned three-pointers late in the half. Beard’s came at the 2:22 mark, giving Ozarks a 43-34 lead, while Clark’s came with :33 seconds left to make it 46-37.
Kareem then scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to slow any Reddie comebacks. Kareem’s inside bucket with 15:42 remaining pushed Ozarks’ advantage to 52-39. The Reddies slowly climbed back to cut the deficit to 69-66 with 4:52 left, but a Kareem three-point play on Ozarks’ next possession put the Eagles back in control.
Beard finished 3-of-4 from the three-point line en route to scoring 17 points. Tony Brock hit 6-of-7 from the floor to add a career-high 16 points. Jeremy Clark ended with 11 points and Chris Clark contributed 10 points.
Ozarks will host Rust College November 26 at 6:00 p.m.
Topics: Athletics