Men's Basketball 12/8/2011 10:52:00 PM

OCU tops Mid-America Christian 78-68

Four Stars notch double figures in scoring

Tim Morton led OCU with 18 points and 12 rebounds Thursday.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University fended off Mid-America Christian 78-68 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Tim Morton, a sophomore from Capital Heights, Md., recorded his first double-double for OCU with 18 points and 12 rebounds. The Stars improved to 6-2, 3-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Four Stars reached double figures in scoring. Charlton Jones, a junior from Katy, Texas, posted 15 points for OCU. C.J. Busby, a junior from Beaumont, Texas, turned in 12 points, four 3-pointers and two blocks, while Orlan Jackman, a senior from London, supplied the Stars with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Morton came off a four-point, 10-rebound performance against Southern Nazarene on Saturday.
“He was disappointed in his performance against SNU,” OCU coach Dionne Phelps said of Morton. “He decided he didn't want to have that kind of game again. I was proud of him showing resolve. That's what we're trying to do, everyone sharing the ball and having responsibility.”
OCU shot 52 percent in the second half and 49 percent overall in the game. The Stars sank 21 of 23 free throws.
Busby nailed a trey to put OCU ahead 57-42 for his team's biggest lead of the game with 9:46 left.
“One of things I told our team was that Mid-America Christian is relentless,” Phelps said. “You have to take your hat off to them. I have a lot of respect for him and his program. It was an improvement over the game at Mid-America. That was one the things we wanted to do. It takes maturity and experience to keep that lead.”
OCU seized the lead using a 13-0 towards the end of the first half. Morton chipped in seven points during that stretch, igniting the run with a putback and free throw with 3:09 left in the first. He added a lay-in and two free throws.
Jones had a jumper and free throw during OCU's onslaught. Jackman's 3-point play put the Stars up 35-24 with 59 seconds left.
At 54 seconds left in the game, Darius Gregory sank a layup to cut OCU's lead to 74-66. Morton and Sam Ferguson closed out the OCU victory by hitting two free throws each.
The Stars face Oklahoma Christian at 5 p.m. Dec. 31 at the Eagles Nest in Oklahoma City.
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