Men's Basketball 12/3/2011 8:59:00 PM

OCU falls 63-55 to Southern Nazarene in overtime

The Stars could not overcome a poor shooting night and move to 5-2 on the season

Troynell Adams notched 10 points off the bench for OCU.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University men's basketball suffered its first Sooner Athletic Conference loss Saturday against Southern Nazarene 63-55 in overtime at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars, now 5-2 overall and 2-1 in SAC play, trailed much of the game but fought back in the final minute to force overtime. Southern Nazarene, ranked 18th in NAIA Division I, regained control in overtime to steal the victory.
“It was good game for us and it was an opportunity for us to gain some experience,” OCU coach Dionne Phelps said. “First and foremost we have to say that they are a really good team, and my hat is off to them. They had a great game plan, and did what they needed to win.”
Senior Orlan Jackman gave the Stars their first lead of the game at the 14:37 mark with an offensive rebound and put back to put OCU up 7-6.
The score was tied at 19-19 at the 7:08 mark when SNU embarked on a 15-4 run to make the score 34-23 with 40 seconds to go.
A pair of free-throws from Shane Rogers and jumper from Elhadji Wade at the buzzer cut the lead to 34-27 at halftime.
The first half featured four ties and four lead changes. OCU shots 39 percent from the field and 16 percent from behind the 3-point line.
“We had open looks and we just didn't knock them down,” Phelps said. “That was the difference in the game, especially not knocking them down early which got us down.”
Jackman cut the SNU lead to five with the first bucket of the second half, but OCU could not get closer than five points from the lead for much of the half.
Layups from Tim Morton and Charlton Jones cut the lead to 45-44 at the 6:13 mark. Jones added another layup and Troynell Adams made a pair of free-throws to tie the score at 48-48 with less than three minutes to play.
Jones gave the Stars their first lead of the second half when he drove from the right wing, scored and drew the foul. Jones made his free-throw and OCU led 51-49 with 57 seconds to go.
SNU's Jon West drove the lane and scored to tie the game at 51-51 with 34 seconds to play, turning off the shot clock and giving OCU a chance for the final shot.
Jackman took a jumper from the right baseline for the win, but it was off the mark and the game went to overtime at 51-51.
The Stars held SNU to 29 percent shooting from the field in the second half to aide in the comeback.
OCU ran out of gas in overtime and was outscored 12-4 to make the final score 63-55 in favor of SNU.
Adams and Cory Nicholson led the way offensively for the Stars with 10 points apiece off the bench. Jackman posted eight points and nine rebounds, Jones added seven points and six assists and Sam Ferguson and Rogers notched seven points each.
OCU shot 35 percent from the field and eight percent from behind the 3-point line on the game.
“We just have to get back in the gym and get some shots up,” Phelps said. “This was just one of those nights. There will be nights like that and you have to find a way.”
The Stars will return to action against Mid-America Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.

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