Men's Basketball 2/5/2013 11:45:00 PM

Stars sneak past Mid-America 65-63

Smith hits layup with 1.1 seconds left for game-winning shot

Kaleb Smith supplied OCU with his second consecutive 14-point performance Tuesday.

Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kaleb Smith's bucket with 1.1 seconds left brought Oklahoma City University a 65-63 victory over Mid-America Christian on Tuesday at the Gaulke Activity Center.
Smith scored underneath the basket off an inbounds pass from Terry Johnson to finish a frantic OCU rally. The Stars (12-7, 5-6 Sooner Athletic Conference) won for the fourth consecutive time.
Mid-America Christian (12-8, 7-4 SAC) had cracked the NAIA Division I men's basketball rankings for the first time ever at No. 25. Mid-America owned victories in four of its last five contests – including an 81-74 win over OCU on Jan. 22 at Abe Lemons Arena.
Shawn Grant nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing with 4.7 seconds remaining to tie the game 63-63. Smith dribbled towards the basket from the opposite corner, then fed Grant on the trey. Charlie Shorter committed a turnover on OCU's end of the court, giving the Stars 2.9 seconds left to try for the winning basket.
Johnson, a junior from Chicago, posted 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals to key OCU. Smith, a junior from Choctaw, Okla., recorded 14 points and four rebounds while hitting 5 of 8 shots from the field.
“I'm proud of Kaleb,” OCU coach Dionne Phelps said. “He actually asked to watch film on Mid-America Christian and spent some time on it. He thought they really took advantage of him the last game we had played. He manned up. That's what you have to do. That just takes courage and pride to make sure you're not going to go through that situation again, and he did. He's been playing really well the last couple of games, and we need him.”
Charlton Jones, a senior from Katy, Texas, supplied the Stars with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Troynell Adams, a senior from Chicago, chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Grant, a senior from San Jose, Calif., hit his first shot of the game on the tying trey.
“Shawn came back in the gym the last couple of days and put up a lot of shots,” Phelps said. “We spent each and every day that we had an opportunity to get to shoot. We would spend 30 minutes getting some shots up.
“Like I told him on the bench, you know what, you're going to be rewarded. So go in the game, get in the game, and guess what, you're going to hit the 3. I'm not worried about that. You're going to hit the 3, and he did. He put in the work, and that's what it's all about. The ball did move, we finally got the ball circled enough, and got it to him, and he knocked it down, and I'm proud of that young man.”
OCU dug itself out of a 12-point hole. Mid-America built a 30-18 lead as Camilo Valencia sank a 3-pointer with 19:06 to go.
The Stars seized the lead 40-38 on Jones' layup with 11:22 remaining in the game. Jones capped a 10-0 OCU uprising. Mid-America answered to take a 53-46 edge on Shorter's jumper with 5:30 showing. Josh Pinner gave Mid-America Christian a 57-49 advantage on a jump shot in the paint at the 3:30 mark.
Angelo Lewis' jumper had Mid-America in front 62-58 with 41 seconds to go. Jones rebounded Johnson's 3-point miss, then fed Johnson on a drive to the basket to cut OCU's deficit to 62-60 with 25 seconds left. Minner added a free throw for Mid-America Christian's final point of the game with 20 seconds remaining.
The Stars face USAO at 8 p.m. Thursday in Chickasha, Okla.

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