OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University notched a 95-71 victory over Avila (Mo.) on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Nate Flowers, a senior from Waldorf, Md., led OCU with 24 points, eight rebounds and two steals. The Stars improved to 3-0 in men's basketball.
Flowers dropped in 11 of his 15 shots from the floor to lead five Stars in double digits in scoring. Johnny Stephene, a junior from Boynton Beach, Fla., scored 21 points and handed out a game-high eight assists. Stephene hit all his shots – 7-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Dee Proby, a senior from Round Rock, Texas, contributed 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Brandon Moton, a junior from Beaumont, Texas, chipped in 13 points and seven assists, while Shane Rogers, a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, added 11 points, five assists and two steals for OCU.
OCU sank 64.4 percent from the field, including 68.8 percent in the first half. The Stars dished out 28 assists as a team.
“Offensively you can't ask for a better performance,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “Defensively, we need to improve.”
Avila shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, but finished with 42.9 percent shooting percentage. Avila sank only 35.3 percent in the second half.
“We shot the ball particularly well,” Morrissey said. “They shot the ball really well. I kept telling our guys it wasn't an issue if we could score. We had to get stops. We shot 68 percent in the first half. We could get it down low and score the ball. I thought we did a great job sharing the ball.”
The Stars erased a 33-28 deficit with a 17-3 run. Cesar Cuevas sank a 3-pointer to spark OCU's spree. Stephene made it back-to-back 3s with a trey of his own. Stephene picked up seven points and an assist during OCU's splurge. Proby stuck a putback to put OCU ahead 45-36 at 3:04 left in the first half and cap the Stars' run.
Avila cut its deficit to 53-48, but OCU responded with nine consecutive points. Stephene and Moton nailed back-to-back 3s to put OCU up 62-48.
At 5:31 remaining, Avila closed to within 77-68, but OCU finished Avila off with 18 unanswered points. Stephene had six points in that stretch – four free throws and a transition bucket.
OCU faces Bible Baptist (Mo.) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
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