OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University withstood a close call to pick up a 78-65 defeat of Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Chris Brown and Kavon Lytch led OCU with 20 points each. The Stars, ranked 20th in NAIA Division I men's basketball, went to 12-7, 10-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Brown, a senior from Spencer, Okla., dished out six assists and hit 8 of his 16 shots from the field. Lytch, a senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., grabbed six rebounds and connected on 9 of 10 shots from the floor.
Jeremy McCarty, a junior from Houston, added 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Corey Bingham, a junior from Lynn, Mass., chipped in 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds for OCU.
OCU hit 52.5 percent from the floor, while Northwestern sank 41.9 percent from the field. The Stars hit only 3 of their 15 3-point shots and 13 of 27 free throws.
“I think they will all be grind-it-out games the rest of the way especially since it's the second time around,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “Our effort was inconsistent, and our free-throw shooting was horrendous.
“It was a great night for Kavon Lytch. Probably should have shot the ball more. We shot too many 3s tonight. The ball has to be posted on offensive possessions. Every coach in America will tell you that. Chris started and did a good job.”
Daryl Glover of Northwestern converted a 3-point play to slice OCU's lead to 56-53 with 11:06 left in the game. Brandon Dixon cut into the OCU lead again with a layup to make it 59-57 with 8:29 remaining.
Brown and Lytch answered with baskets for the Stars.
OCU went on an 8-0 run late to put away the game. Lytch went inside for a bucket to start the run with 2:31 left, and Bingham sank a trey off Brown's dribble penetration to cap the OCU surge with 56 seconds left. The Stars held their largest advantage of the game 77-64.
“We are playing just above the level of our competition,” Morrissey said. “That kind of approach will get you beat. We're not mentally tough enough to lock a team down.
“We should be peaking right now, but we're not. It was just a frustrating experience tonight. We have to get better. We are making the kind of mistakes a team makes at the beginning of the season, not with six games to go.”
The Stars face Oklahoma Christian at 5 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena in the Backyard Brawl.
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