OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University overcame an 18-point deficit to edge Rogers State 73-72 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Chris Brown, a senior from Spencer, Okla., supplied the winning points for the Stars, knocking down a pair of free throws with 1:16 remaining in the game. OCU improved to 11-6, 9-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Rogers State dropped to 15-8, 8-7 in the SAC to fall two games behind OCU in the men's basketball conference standings. Rogers State led 72-67 on John Boyd's free throw with 3:29 left in the contest.
Brown responded with a bucket at the 2:43 mark, then Jerome Phillips scored on a lay-in with 2:13 left to set up Brown's heroics.
Rogers State came up empty on its final five possessions of the game. Rogers State missed two field-goal attempts and two free throws and committed three turnovers.
Lance Sullivan missed a desperation layup attempt to leave a 10th of a second remaining for Rogers State. OCU's Kavon Lytch knocked away an entry pass intended for Sylvester Spicer in the paint to seal the outcome.
OCU trailed 47-32 at the break and 51-33 with 18:51 left in the game. OCU held Rogers State to 34.6 percent shooting from the floor in the second half after Rogers State sank 54.8 percent in the first period.
“The fashion in which we won was big,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “We came back from 18 points down. We were better defensively in the second half. They did a great job, a better job in picking them up full court. We communicated better in transition defense. You have to win with defense.”
Brown finished with 18 points and four steals, while Corey Bingham provided 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for OCU. Phillips added 15 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Lytch contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
“Chris Brown does a lot more for us besides scoring,” Morrissey said. “He had a couple of good steals. Kavon did a good job defensively.”
The Stars used a 12-2 run to cut Rogers State's advantage to 53-45 with 14:36 left. Lytch ignited the run with a 3-point play, while Brown converted a 3-point play to cap the OCU surge.
Bingham scored on a layup to slice OCU's deficit to 60-59 with 10:23 left. Rogers State answered with a Spicer basket and Deveric Taylor's jumper.
OCU faces sixth-ranked Southern Nazarene at 8 p.m. Monday in Bethany, Okla.
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