"I think we took the best team in the country to the wire and came up a little bit short," said TWU coach Terry Waldrop.

OBU got off to a rugged start as the rams scored the game's first seven points on the way to a 20-5 lead six minutes into the contest.

"We were okay defensively. They were making some tough shots, but coach told us we were standing around too much on offense," said OBU guard Tim Bowman.

Still down 28-17, the Bison got an 8-0 run with three-point plays by Kevin Swinton and A.J. Hawkins and a put-back by Garrett Steinmetz to cut the lead to 28-25 with 4:55 left in the half.

Swinton scored at the 3:18 mark to tie the score at 29-29 and Bowman and Hawkins hit three-pointers to close out the half on a 6-0 run for a 35-34 lead.

The Rams led by as many as five in the second half and held a 62-58 edge with 4:16 left in regulation. Nate Brumfield and Tyler Parker hit two of two free throws each to even the score at 62-62 at the 2:35 mark, but White gunned down a three-pointer for a 65-62 lead with 2:20 to go.

Bowman answered with a trey with 1:57 to go to tie the score again, but the Bison missed a couple of free throws while White hit two for a 67-65 lead with 54.9 seconds in regulation. Hawkins scored with 41 seconds left for the 67-67 tie and the OBU defense forced a shot-clock violation.

Brumfield missed a hurried shot at the end of regulation, but made up with it with some big decisions in the overtime.

Steinmetz and Bowman drained huge three-pointers to give the Bison a 73-67 lead and Brumfield scored and converted a three-point play for a 76-69 lead at the 2:03 mark of the extra period.

"Those first three possessions of overtime we successful because of the decisions Nate made," Tolin said. "We threw it in there to him twice and he bounced it back out the Garrett for the first three-pointer and to Tim for the second. The third time, he went to the basket and got the and-one."

The Bison would lead by as many as 11 points in the overtime after the quick start.

Bowman led the Bison with a season-best 19 points, followed by Hawkins with 17, Brumfield with 15, Swinton with 13 and Steinmetz with 10.
OBU picked up its 30th win on the season, giving Tolin his fifth 30-win season and the first since the 2006 NAIA semifinalist team. The win also gives OBU 51 in the NAIA Tournament, expanding its own record and giving the Bison program two more than Georgetown, which is second.

Now 30-3, the Bison will play Biola or Park Saturday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.