Men's Basketball 3/1/2013 10:55:00 PM

Stars clip Rogers State 71-65

OCU plays for ninth SAC Tournament championship 7 p.m. Saturday

Terry Johnson scored 13 points while hitting all five of his free throws Friday.

Box Score
SHAWNEE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University held off Rogers State 71-65 on Friday at the Noble Complex in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament semifinals.
OCU (16-10) moved into the SAC Tournament championship game 7 p.m. Saturday vs. conference regular-season champion John Brown (Ark.), ranked fourth in NAIA Division I. Charlton Jones, a senior from Katy, Texas, fueled the Stars with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
The Stars will be playing for their first SAC Tournament crown since 2008 after being knocked out of the tournament quarterfinals in the past four years. Unranked OCU will also look to grab the conference's automatic bid into the NAIA Division I Tournament that goes to the league tournament champion.
Terry Johnson, a junior from Chicago, supplied OCU with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Shawn Grant, a senior from San Jose, Calif., came off the bench to give the Stars 11 points and six rebounds while draining three 3-pointers.
OCU outrebounded Rogers State 34-32. The Stars overcame Rogers State shooting 52.2 percent from the field (12-for-23) in the second half. Rogers State struggled from the floor in the first half, hitting only 8 of 27 field-goal attempts for 29.6 percent shooting.
Justyn Hammond scored to put Rogers State up 13-4 with 14:23 to go in the first period. The Stars responded with a 12-2 surge ignited by Johnson's trey and 3-point play. Ivan Matip sank a jumper that gave OCU a 16-15 edge with 9:59 left in the first.
Troynell Adams dropped in a jumper and a 3-pointer to key a 7-0 OCU uprising that put the Stars ahead 31-20 with 4:00 to go in the first half.
Rogers State fought back to take a 40-38 lead on Robinson Odoch Opong's 3-pointer with 15:39 showing in the game. OCU answered with Matip's free throws and Grant's 3.
Alex Ewings had a 3-point play to put Rogers State ahead 47-45 at the 12:36 mark. The Stars seized the lead for good with a 9-0 run. Johnson buried a 3-pointer and two free throws to power the OCU splurge. Matip's lay-in provided OCU a 54-47 lead with 7:21 left.
Hammond had free throws to cut OCU's lead to 63-61 with 1:14 to go. Jones drove into the lane for a layup to put the Stars on top 65-61 at 48 seconds left.
Ken Holdman's tip-in cut Rogers State's deficit to 65-63 with 24 seconds remaining. OCU, facing a full-court press, inbounded the ball to Grant, who downed two free throws at the 22-second mark. Holdman scored on a layup, but Terrence Walker answered for OCU with a breakaway layup with 10 seconds left.
Jones sealed the victory with free throws at the end of the game.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
At Noble Complex, Oklahoma Baptist
Shawnee, Okla.
Wednesday's Result
Play-in Game
St. Gregory's 56, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 53
Thursday's Results
Quarterfinals
USAO 66, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 63
John Brown 71, St. Gregory's 56
Oklahoma City 64, Oklahoma Baptist 60
Rogers State 87, Mid-America Christian 83
Friday's Results
Semifinals
John Brown 85, USAO 74
Oklahoma City 71, Rogers State 65
Saturday's Game
Championship
John Brown (27-5) vs. Oklahoma City (16-10), 7 p.m.

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