SHAWNEE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University used a strong second-half performance to roll 85-69 over St. Gregory's on Thursday night at W.P. Fieldhouse in men's basketball.

The Stars shot 63.3 percent in the second half to improve to 8-5, 6-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference heading into a home matchup with undefeated Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday evening.

Cory Nicholson, a sophomore from Harrah, Okla., paced six Stars in double figures with 18 points and five rebounds followed by Corey Bingham, a junior from Lynn, Mass., with 17 points and six rebounds.

Jerome Phillips, a senior from Chickasha, Okla., put in 13 points and eight rebounds.

“We're happy to get the win, I just don't think our effort was there,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “I am pleased we had balanced scoring, but I would have liked to have had some momentum heading into OBU on Saturday.”

OCU opened up a double digit lead with an 8-0 run early in the second half. Bingham hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Stars a 48-37 advantage with 16:07 to play. Jeremy McCarty brought the house down with a one-handed jam in transition to cap the run and give OCU a 50-37 lead with 14:43 remaining in the game.

Kavon Lytch and Chris Brown each had 11 points. McCarty scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

The Stars used an 11-1 run in the first half to build a 23-12 lead. OCU led 35-31 at halftime.

OCU will host third-ranked Oklahoma Baptist at 8 p.m. Saturday inside Abe Lemons Arena.
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