Men’s Basketball
Men Advance to Finals, Clinch National Berth

OKLAHOMA CITY – With a dominating defensive effort, the University of Science and Arts defeated Rogers State 61-55 in Saturday’s Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals. With the school’s fourth NAIA National Tournament berth secured with an appearance in the finals, the Drovers will play for a piece of history at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Oklahoma Christian University.

USAO will play Oklahoma City in the finals for a chance to win the school’s first SAC tournament championship.

“Even though we don’t have to win, our guys want to make a statement,” head coach Brisco McPherson said after Saturday’s semifinal win over RSU. “Even when we were winning conference titles and going to the national finals, we never won a conference tournament championship. That’s the incentive for our guys. They just want to keep playing.”

Getting the opportunity to play in the tournament finals took a grind-it-out win over the Hillcats in what is fast becoming USAO’s second home. The Eagles Nest at OC is usually a tough place to win, but the Drovers have now won six straight games there dating back to 2005. 

“That was a hard fought win,” McPherson said. “Our guards played well and were a little bit tougher down the stretch.”

By holding RSU to only 36 percent from the floor and its second worst offensive game of the season, USAO improved to 17-14 overall and 13-4 this season when holding opponents to under 70 points. Saturday marked the 11th time this season the Drover defense held an opponent to 60 points or below.

“When we limit a team to one shot, we’ll do well.” McPherson said. “They don’t shoot that well. They need multiple shots. SNU was the same way. They like to shot it, go get it and shot it again. When you give people only one shot and then make them play defense, you have a chance to stop them.”

After jumping out to a quick lead, USAO trailed most of the first half. RSU led 27-24 at halftime, but the Drovers started the second half on a 7-3 run and never looked back.

Tim Nelson scored a game-high 16 points including 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Thomas Woods finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and Eli Flores went 6-of-9 for 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. DeAngelo Alexander posted his 12th double-digit rebounding game of the season with 10.

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