Tony Daniels’ three-point play and Ted Beard’s layup in the waning moments helped the Eagles past UT-Tyler 66-63 on Saturday in American Southwest Conference play.
The Eagles improve to 7-14 and 6-10 (ASC) and remain in the playoff hunt with four conference games remaining. Ozarks is in fifth-place behind Mississippi College (15-1), UT-Dallas (10-5), LeTourneau (10-7) and Louisiana College (7-9). Only the top four teams earn playoff bids.
Trailing 63-60 with 1:35 remaining in the contest, Tony Daniels completed a three-point play to tie the game at 63-63 with 1:09 left. Daniels then snagged a defensive rebound on the Patriots (5-14, 4-11) next offensive possession and Beard later made what turned into the game-winning shot with 34 seconds remaining. Jeremy Clark gave Ozarks a 66-63 cushion with 15 seconds when he hit one-of-two free throws. The Patriots did get the game’s last possession, but Ozarks held them scoreless.
Beard’s shot was one of several big baskets for the Tyler native. Beard hit 5-of-7 from the three-point line en route to scoring a game-high 22 points. He also finished with 7 rebounds. Habeeb Kareem scored 13 points and Clark added 12. Chris Williams came off the bench to grab a team-best 8 rebounds. Daniels finished with 7 rebounds.
Ozarks will travel to Pineville, Louisiana, to face Louisiana College on February 8, and then on to Clinton, Mississippi, to face Mississippi College on February 10.