Clarksville, Ark.-After a difficult first half in which they shot just 24 percent from the floor, the Eagles put on a dominating second half performance to earn a 87-78 win over Hardin-Simmons University Saturday in American Southwest Conference play.
Chris Williams and Tony Daniels each came up big with double-doubles in the road win. Williams ended with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Daniels scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards.
It was a tail of two halves, as Ozarks (5-5, 3-2) bettered the Cowboys (3-6, 2-3) in points (56-36) in the second half. However, the Eagles struggled in the first half, but Hardin-Simmons played well as they ended the first twenty minutes with a 42-31 advantage. With Hardin-Simmons leading 65-45 at the 12:59 mark of the second half, the Eagles took over the game and outscored the Cowboys 13-0 over the next two and a half minutes to cut the deficit to seven points. The Cowboys slowly took back momentum, leading 76-66 with 7:32 to play, but it was all Ozarks after that. Hardin-Simmons scored just two points the rest of the way, while Ozarks scored 21. Williams was instrumental in the comeback by controlling the paint and pumping in seven straight points to cut it to 76-73. His two free throws a few minutes later would put the Eagles up 77-76. He finished with 19 second half points. Daniels’ two free throws with 2:02 remaining put the Eagles up for good. Daniels also did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 14 points and collecting six rebounds.
Ozarks shot a solid 21-of-25 (84%) from the free throw line and hit 55 percent from the field in the second half.
Jeremy Clark contributed 17 points.
Ozarks will play McMurry University Monday night in Abilene.
Topics: Athletics