MARSHALL, Texas – Forcing 17 turnovers that led to 22 points became the difference in the game as East Texas Baptist University held off the University of the Ozarks, 62-58, in American Southwest Conference play. ETBU is now 14-10 on the year and 9-6 in the ASC.
 
ETBU had as large as an 18-point lead in the second half before UO trimmed it to three with under a minute to play. ETBU added 32 points in the paint with the 22 points on turnovers that contributed to the four-point win.
 
Darry Moore collected his ninth double-double of the year with 27 points and 12 rebounds shooing 66 percent from the floor. Jaden Conner added his second double-double of the year gaining 15 points and 10 rebounds making 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Jayden Williams finished with 12 points making ETBU's only three-pointer. UO's Josh Ukpe had14 points.
 
ETBU's night from the three-point line went cold shooting just six percent but they finished shooting 35 percent overall and 81 percent from the line. UO shot 38 percent, made 43 percent of their three-point shots but shot just 52 percent (11-of-21) from the free throw line. ETBU out rebounded UO, 41-37.
 
It was an up and down first half for ETBU as they trailed by four 11 minutes into the game, 13-9. ETBU went 0-for-10 from three-point range but managed to make 13 shots from the floor for an eight-point halftime lead, 29-21. Down by five, 18-13 with 7:13 left in the half, ETBU went on an 8-0 run in three minutes for a three-point lead, 21-18. Williams had four of the eight points in the run and Moore put ETBU back in front, 19-18, at 4:49. With 1:21 left, Moore hit another jumper for a five-point lead, 24-19. In the final 1:21, Moore scored all seven points with and-1 play to put ETBU six, 27-21. He then hit a layup with one second left for the eight-point lead at the half, 29-21. The final 1:21 featured a 7-2 run for ETBU.
 
Williams hit ETBU's only three-pointer of the game at the 16:06 mark in the second half for an 11-point lead, 34-23. By 15;09, UO was within eight 36-28. Two free throws by Moore gave ETBU a double-digit lead, again, 38-28, at 14:32 and Williams banked in a layup at 12:13 for a 16-point lead, 46-30. With just over 10 minutes left to play, UO cut the lead down to nine, 46-37, but in three minutes ETBU boosted their lead to 18 points, 56-38, on a 10-1 run. Joshua R Davis hit a jumper for the 18-point lead as Conner had four of the 10 points in the run. Over the next six minutes, ETBU would score just two points as UO cut the lead to three, 58-55, on a 17-2 run. UO hit a three-pointer with 44 seconds left to pull within three and then had a chance to tie the game with 13 seconds left by Davis stole the ball. UO fouled Conner as he hit both free throws with 11 seconds for a 60-55 lead. Moore then made two free throws with six seconds left for a seven-point lead, 62-55, as UO hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to make it a 62-58 final.

ETBU will host Texas Dallas on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for Senior Day in the final regular season game of the 2023-24 season.