OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University's men's basketball team topped Mid-America Christian 72-62 on Monday at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars improved to 15-11, 8-10 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Jamel White, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., led the Stars with 20 points and five rebounds.
Richard Jackson, a senior from Bronx, N.Y., followed with 18 points and five assists. The Stars hit six of their first seven 3-point attempts in the matchup.
OCU gained the lead in the first half at 15:49 and went on a 9-0 run started with a layup from Marlon Jones, assisted by White.
The Stars had their largest lead of 16 in the first half with 5:38. DaVell Jackson's layup sparked an 8-2 run for the Stars to widen the gap to .
Mid-America Christian closed the gap to with six with 5:42 remaining in the game. White hit a trey on the Stars' next possession to put them ahead by nine with 3:56 remaining.
“We shot the ball extremely well,” said OCU coach Kevin Morrissey. “We had a chance to put the game away, but we didn't. We made shots and took care of the ball at the end of the game though.”
Vinicious Telo, a sophomore from Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, knocked in 11 points, rounding out the Stars' double-digit scorers. Telo also posted five rebounds in the contest.
Telo sparked OCU with a steal and transition slam after Mid-America had cut the Stars' lead to 50-48. Telo ignited a 13-2 OCU run.
Mid-America answered to slice its deficit to 63-57, but White responded with a trey.
“Jamel has really shot the ball well,” Morrissey said. “We've put up a lot of shots in individual workouts. That was unbelievable to rely on that step-back 3-pointer. He made some big shots and good defensive defensive plays.
“Telo's play gave us momentum. It gave us a spark. We did exert a lot of emotional energy on Saturday against OBU. I was glad we defended our home court.”
The Stars shot 52.8 percent from the field, 61.3 percent in the first half. OCU knocked down 8 of 21 shots from 3-point range.
OCU will face John Brown (Ark.) at 8 p.m. Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
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