OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University pounded Mid-America Christian 80-58 on Monday at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars (10-5, 8-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) avenged their only loss in men's basketball ever to Mid-America. Mid-America won 71-56 on Dec. 12 at the Gaulke Activity Center.
OCU built advantages in rebounding (44-30) and points in the paint (50-26) along the way.
“We did a good job limiting them to 14 offensive rebounds,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “We bodied up, boxed out and got to the rebounds.
“We went over there, I knew they were good, and I told the guys that. But we went over there, and we were just not ready to play. I believe that was our worst game of the year.”
OCU sank 55 percent of its shots from the floor, 57.6 percent in the first half as the Stars built a 45-37 lead. Corey Bingham drove to the basket for a lay-in that capped an 8-2 run. Bingham supplied OCU with its largest lead at 76-51 at 6:28 remaining in the game.
Mid-America managed only 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
“If we can hold people to 50, 55 points, our chances of winning go up,” Morrissey said. “I told our coaching staff we had to shut them down more. Forty-five points for us at the half were a lot. That's a fast clip for us and I don't think that's our comfort level. That's what they want to do. It was crazy. Bingham did a good job of slowing us down. We were caught up in that going up and down where they want to be.”
Jeremy McCarty, a junior from Houston, paced OCU with a season-high 21 points, knocking in 8 of his 12 shots from the field. Kavon Lytch, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., posted 18 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for his third double-double in four games.
Bingham, a junior from Lynn, Mass., added 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.
“I can always tell when Jeremy is going to have a good game with the way he walks up,” Morrissey said. “He has a certain way about him. I was really pleased with his performance. It was nice to see him score like he did. He had a good matchup. He got into the lane and got to the rim. He didn't settle for jump shots.”
The Stars take on John Brown (Ark.) at 8 p.m. Thursday in Siloam Springs, Ark.
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