On Feb. 14-15, the Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) hosted the annual Oklahoma Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) Basketball Tournament. Sixteen different BCM’s from across the state participated in the tournament consisting of twenty men’s teams and eight women’s teams.
Even though it is presented as a basketball tournament, the event is a witness opportunity event for BCM students to reach out to their student bodies.
“I think it’s a great outreach for students in their BCM to also reach out to their student bodies and invite their peers who may not really have a relationship with Jesus and introduce them to Christ through sports,” said David Gardner, assistant director of OBU Bison Recreation and Wellness.
This event is sponsored by the Oklahoma BCM in partnership with OBU and was held at OBU’s Recreation and Wellness Center, which has three basketball court. All teams competed in a single elimination/consolation bracket-style tournament with standard Oklahoma High School basketball rules.
In the women’s bracket, OBU’s team won in overtime against the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) with a score of 33 to 28.
On the men’s side, Oklahoma State University (OSU) retained their title as champions for the third year in a row, defeating UCO as well with a score of 61 to 44.
In the consolation bracket for the women’s side, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) faced off against Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU). USAO came out on top with a close score of 27 to 23.
On the men’s side of the consolation bracket, NWOSU won against OBU with a score of 57 to 48.
Each of these teams were formed by their respective BCM’s director, allowing the students and directors to build their relationships with each other and with Christ.
“The relationships each of the directors get to build with their students in activities outside the normal setting allow for memories to be made and friendships to develop,” said Gardner.
To view a list of all upcoming events at OBU, visit events.okbu.edu.
