CHICKASHA, Okla. – Oklahoma City University earned a hard-fought 68-63 road victory over USAO on Thursday at USAO Fieldhouse.
The Stars, ranked 17th in NAIA Division I men's basketball, put USAO away down the stretch with a strong defensive effort. OCU forced the Drovers into 32.8 percent shooting from the field, including 28.1 percent in the second half. The Stars improved to 14-7, 12-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while USAO fell to 5-18, 3-15 in the SAC.
“It wasn't very pretty at all,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said about the win. “We're not a good shooting team, and I didn't feel like we were ready to play. It was a grind-it-out victory for us, and we had to battle through it.”
Kavon Lytch, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead OCU. Lytch also had three assists and three blocks.
Jeremy McCarty, a junior from Houston, added 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. Jerome Phillips, a senior from Chickasha, Okla., notched 13 points and eight rebounds, while Chris Brown, a senior from Spencer, Okla., had 10 points and four assists.
Phillips, who was playing in his hometown, hit the decisive jumper with 28 seconds remaining to give OCU a 68-63 lead.
“That bucket right there was senior leadership in his hometown,” Morrissey said. “I'm glad he made a play. We were trying to get the ball inside, and they (USAO) did a good job of preventing us from getting it in to Kavon. Jerome drove in there and finished. He was one of the few one's that finished at the rim. It was great that he was the one who was able to score that decisive bucket for us.”
The Stars grabbed the lead for good midway through the second half with a 6-0 spurt. Lytch had four of the six points during that stretch including the capper that gave OCU a 52-46 lead with 9:40 to go in the game. OCU built its biggest lead of the game at 58-50 with 7:53 left on a basket from McCarty.
OCU will battle fifth-ranked Southern Nazarene in matchup of top-20 teams on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Abe Lemons Arena.
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