Basketball Teams Split With OCU

Buoyed by a much-improved shooting performance, the USAO men’s basketball team avenged an earlier loss to Oklahoma City with a 91-79 win Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Drover women couldn’t overcome precise shooting by the Stars and a huge deficit at the free throw line in a 78-64 loss at USAO Fieldhouse.

With their 12-point win, the Drover men improve to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The USAO women fall to 6-16 overall and 1-10 in the SAC. This week, the Drovers take their annual trip to west Texas. On Thursday, USAO takes on Wayland Baptist in Plainview and Lubbock Christian on Saturday.

USAO connected on 69 percent from the field in the first half and led by double figures for much of the second half in a 91-79 win over No. 17 Oklahoma City. The Stars also had a good shooting night, hitting on 52 percent from the field and 10 3-pointers, but shot half as many free throws as the Drovers.

After a holding an eight-point lead at halftime, the Drovers hit their first three shots of the second half and never looked back. USAO also hit some key free throws down the stretch, and forced OCU into foul trouble. The Drovers also had 19 points off the bench to OCU’s 13, and a slight 34-28 rebounding advantage.

Senior Wayne Gibson led four USAO players in double figures with a  game-high 27 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 11-of-15 from the free throw line. Sophomore Avery Stevenson scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half. Gibson and Stevenson each had eight rebounds, and Gibson had three assists.

Others in double figures were senior Keith Miller with 13 points and freshman Kevin Thames with 11 points. Thames also had four rebounds and three assists. Senior Tony Jimmerson finished with nine points and four rebounds, while freshman Kawitton Benoit came off the bench for six points.

For the game, USAO hit 56 percent (32-of-57) from the field, 46 percent (5-of-11) from 3-point range and 76 percent  (22-of-29) from the free throw line. The Drovers collected 34 rebounds, 13 assists, nine steals, two blocks, and committed 18 turnovers.

Oklahoma City (14-6, 7-4) had four players in double figures, led by Herman Burge with 19 points and a game-high seven assists. Dawud Drew finished with 16 points, Drago Pavlovic had 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Ryan Godwin added 10 points for the Stars.

In the women’s game, USAO watched No. 4 Oklahoma City put on a shooting clinic in the second half, hitting 62 percent from the field and holding a sizable advantage at the free throw line – 25-4, for the game. The Drovers battled through poor shooting to keep the Stars close and trail 31-29 at halftime.

OCU came out in the second half with a 15-4 run to lead by 11, and extended the lead to as many as 16 points with just over seven minutes left in regulation.  The closest USAO could come was eight points at 59-51 with 8:46 left.

Three Drovers finished in double figures, led by senior Secrett Stubblefield with 19 points, five assists and a game-high six steals. Senior Christal Merriweather and junior Katie Sterling had 11 points each. Merriweather finished with a team-high eight rebounds and four steals, while Sterling had five rebounds.

Junior Christina Brown had seven points, and junior Nicole Sherman and sophomore Nikki Yager added six points each. Yager finished with four rebounds and Sherman grabbed three. Senior Karole Roberts had four points and five rebounds to round out the scoring for USAO.

For the game, USAO hit 35 percent (25-of-71) from the field, 32 percent (10-of-31) from 3-point range and 100 percent (4-of-4) from the free throw line. The Drovers collected 34 rebounds, 12 assists, 12 steals, two blocks, and committed 19 turnovers.

Sadio Sangare’ led Oklahoma City (20-4, 11-0) with 25 points and eight rebounds. Miriam Sy finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five steals. Natasha Doh added 11 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.