Men's Basketball 11/17/2012 6:30:00 PM

Stars hold on for 68-66 win over Central Oklahoma

Adams tallies 21 points, eight rebounds to spark OCU

Terry Johnson tries to drive past Nic Combs of Central Oklahoma during Saturday's game. (Photo by Jonathan Smith, Central Oklahoma photo services)

Box Score
EDMOND, Okla. – Charlton Jones' free throw with six seconds left provided Oklahoma City University the final margin in a 68-66 victory over Central Oklahoma on Saturday at Hamilton Field House.
Troynell Adams gave OCU the lead for good with a jumper with 2:14 left. The Stars (3-1) withstood Spencer Smith's 3-point attempt that missed with two seconds left.
Seth Heckart's 3-pointer put Central Oklahoma up 59-57 at the 3:22 mark. Adams responded with a transition bucket assisted by Jones with 3:15 to go.
Adams produced 12 consecutive points for OCU in the final 4:34. Adams, a senior from Chicago, shot 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and scored on a layup, jump shot and 3-pointer during that span.
“I was proud of the way our guys competed and fought through adversity,” OCU coach Dionne Phelps said. “Our guys competed. A year ago, we had three or four games like that, and we lost those games. That showed a lot of maturity and growth. It's our program taking a step in the right direction.”
Adams topped OCU with 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds and sinking 6 of 10 shots from the field. Kaleb Smith, a junior from Choctaw, Okla., boosted OCU with 14 points, five rebounds and three 3-pointers off the bench, and Terry Johnson, a junior from Chicago, provided 13 points and seven rebounds.
OCU outrebounded Central Oklahoma 45-37 and overcame 18 turnovers and 42.6 percent shooting from the floor. Central Oklahoma managed 37.3 percent shooting from the field.
Spencer Smith had a layup to tie the game 24-24 with 6:28 left in the first half. The Stars answered using Ivan Matip's lay-in and Kaleb Smith's trey for a 29-24 OCU cushion at 4:06 on the clock.
Johnson's layup put the Stars up 35-27 with 40 seconds left in the first period for OCU's largest margin of the half.
Another Kaleb Smith 3 gave OCU a 49-44 lead at 9:57 remaining. Heckart sank back-to-back treys, but Kaleb Smith's jumper put the Stars back up 51-50 with 8:23 left. June Carter answered with a jump shot, but Kaleb Smith fired in his last 3-pointer of the game for a 54-52 Stars edge at the 7:10 mark.
That set up Adams' heroics. Adams knocked in a 3 that gave OCU a 64-59 advantage with 1:16 left. Adams hit a pair of free throws with 47 seconds remaining, but Josh Gibbs' 3-point basket cut OCU's lead to 66-65 at 21 seconds to go.
Carter had a free throw that cut Central's deficit to 67-66 with 11 seconds left. Jones converted 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds to go to keep the lead for the Stars.
OCU meets Langston at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Langston, Okla.

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