Basketball Teams Split With John Brown

Buoyed by a 13-3 run to open the second half, the USAO women’s basketball team overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to claim a 64-63 win Thursday over John Brown, Ark. Meanwhile, the USAO men couldn’t get past some controversial calls and an off shooting night to fall 76-67 to the Golden Eagles.

With one-point victory, the Drover women improve to 10-18 overall and 4-13 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Drover men fall to 9-17 overall and 6-11 in the SAC. On Saturday, both teams need wins over Southern Nazarene in the regular season finale for a berth in the SAC postseason tournament.

In the women’s game, senior Christal Merriweather’s basket and free throw with 1:19 to go in regulation proved to the game-winner as USAO overcame a 14-point halftime deficit for a 64-63 win. The Drovers outscored the Golden Eagles 23-8 over the opening 10 minutes of the second half to claim their first lead, 51-50, with 10:42 left.

John Brown (14-14, 6-11) responded with a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes to lead by five with 3:18 left. USAO’s Merriweather scored the final seven points of the game, including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line, to secure the final margin.

Senior Secrett Stubblefield and junior Katie Sterling led three Drovers in double figures with 21 points each. Sterling finished with seven rebounds and a game-high four steals. Merriweather scored 14 points, six rebounds, and a game-high four assists.

The USAO men shot below 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range in a 76-67 loss. The Drovers trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but came back in the final five minutes of the half to force three ties and six lead changes.

But, John Brown (18-10, 9-8) shot over 50 percent in the second half and led 71-53 with just over five minutes left. The Drovers made a brief run to cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 74-65 with 1:25 left, but scored only one basket in that time.

Freshman Kevin Thames came off the bench for 16 points to lead three Drovers in double figures. Sophomore Avery Stevenson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior Wayne Gibson was held to 11 points, 10 off his average, but grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out three assists.