Men’s basketball falls in opener to Ouachita Baptist

Friday, November 8

Searcy, AR

2:30 p.m.

St. Cloud State

0-1,0-0NSIC

Ouachita Baptist University

1-0,0-0GAC

Ouachita Baptist

St. Cloud St.

Trevon Marshall scored 16 points in the Huskies opener against Ouachita Baptist.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

11/8/2019 4:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SEARCY, ARKANSAS – There was a little bit of everything in the St. Cloud State University men's basketball season opener Friday afternoon. After a long wait, the Huskies finally made their season debut against Ouaticha Baptist University at the Big Red Stores Classic, hosted by Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Despite a hard fought battle, St. Cloud State was unable to come away with a victory, as the team fell to Ouaticha by a final score of 56-51.

The Huskies struggled to score in the opening 20 minutes of play and entered the locker room trailing 30-23 at the half. St. Cloud State showed its grit and tenacity in the second 20 minutes of play, rallying to tie things up with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Trevon Marshall (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston), Ilya Trytyshnik (Kyiv, Ukraine / Kyiv Specialized School #49) and Anthony Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park) all scored during the Huskies impressive run, allowing the team to tie the score at 41-41.

St. Cloud State would eventually take a 43-41 lead on a layup by Roberts, but the Tigers would not go away quietly. The two teams traded baskets, as neither led by more than three points for a three-minute time span. With two minutes remaining in regulation, Ouachita's Kendarious Smith made a second chance layup under the basket, giving the Tigers a 50-48 advantage over the Huskies.

St. Cloud State tried to rally in the remaining two minutes, but it was too little too late, as Ouachita Baptist went on to win on free throws by a final score of 56-51.

Marshall was the top scorer for the Huskies Friday night, as he opened the season with a 16 point performance on 6-14 shooting. Roberts and Caleb Donaldson (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington) impressed in their rookie debuts, as they scored a combined 17 points for the Huskies and pulled in 10 rebounds.

With the loss, St. Cloud State opens the season with a 0-1 record yet remain perfect in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. The Huskies will look for their first win of the season on Saturday as they face Harding at 7 p.m. in Searcy, Arkansas.