OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University rallied from a 12-point deficit to notch its first Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball win of the season 77-73 over Mid-America Christian on Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Johnny Stephene, a junior from Boynton Beach, Fla., led the Stars with 18 points and four assists. OCU improved to 7-0, 1-0 in the SAC, while Mid-America fell to 2-3, 0-1.
Brandon Moton sank free throws with 14.4 seconds remaining to put the Stars up 76-73. John Shodipo hit a lay-in with 19 seconds left to cut OCU's edge to 74-73, but missed a 3-pointer at five seconds left. Stephene hit a free throw for the final margin.
“We didn't deserve to win,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “Mid-America played great. They forced us into turnovers. Our defensive intensity was acceptable for only six out of 40 minutes. We were really, really lucky to win.”
Mid-America took the lead on Darius Gregory's layup with 3:39 left in the first half. The Stars regained the lead on Shane Rogers' free throws with 3:04 remaining in the game.
Shodipo answered with a lay-in to put Mid-America up 71-70 at the 2:05 mark, but Nate Flowers' putback gave OCU the lead for good at 72-71 with 1:32 left.
Flowers added a steal and a breakaway bucket to push the Stars' lead to 74-71 with 1:13 showing on the clock.
“This will show us how tough we can be,” Morrissey said. “We found a way to win. We scheduled so soft in the nonconference we may not have been prepared for the Sooner Athletic Conference. We have a lot to improve on going forward.”
Flowers tied the game 41-41 with 19:12 left in the contest, but Mid-America responded with a 10-0 run. Bradley Cosby gave Mid-America a 51-41 advantage on a jumper with 16:25 left. George Haynes' basket provided Mid-America its largest lead at 57-45 at the 11:10 mark.
OCU mustered a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to 63-62. Moton started the run on a trey, and Rogers capped it with a free throw. Rogers added a pair of free throws, while Moton knocked in another 3 in that span.
Brandon Williams nailed a 3 to give Mid-America a 66-62 advantage at 4:06 remaining. The Stars fought back with Stephene's back-to-back treys.
Moton, a junior from Beaumont, Texas, finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists for OCU. Flowers, a junior from Waldorf, Md., added 10 points, 14 rebounds and two steals, and Rogers, a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, recorded 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
OCU meets Avila (Mo.) at 7 p.m. Monday in Kansas City, Mo.
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