Men's Basketball 1/18/2014 9:44:00 PM

Stars overcome Mid-America Christian 97-89 in overtime

McGhee pours in 42 points, hits tying trey

R.J. McGhee became the first OCU men's basketball player to reach 40 points in nearly a decade.

Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY – R.J. McGhee piled up 42 points, nailing the game-tying 3-pointer in Oklahoma City University's 97-89 overtime victory over Mid-America Christian on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
McGhee, a senior from Baton Rouge, La., became the first Star to score 40 points since Eric Tatum had 42 against St. Gregory's on March 4, 2004. OCU improved to 9-6, 5-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while Mid-America Christian, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I men's basketball, fell to 9-5, 5-3.
With six seconds left in regulation, McGhee downed a 3-pointer that forced overtime. In overtime, McGhee scored 10 points of the Stars' 20 points as OCU outscored Mid-America 20-12. Overall, McGhee went 13-for-25 from the field, hit 13 of 14 free throws and grabbed seven rebounds in 40 minutes of play.
"He had a really good night," OCU coach Dionne Phelps said of McGhee's performance. "He hit big shots. We're learning about him. He's playing to the level we were hoping that he can. I don't know if he can deliver this every night. We can't expect that every night. He took on a big responsibility."
Terry Johnson, a senior from Chicago, posted 23 points and six rebounds while going 12-for-13 from the free-throw line, while Kaleb Smith, a senior from Choctaw, Okla., added 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals for the Stars.
Mid-America Christian's Reggie Davis had 34 points, seven rebounds and five treys. Davis' layup capped an 8-0 run that gave Mid-America a 77-70 advantage with 1:17 left in regulation. Angelo Lewis' transition bucket gave Mid-America its first lead of the game 44-43 with 16:16 left in the second half.
McGhee nailed two free throws to cut Mid-America's lead to 77-72 at the 1:07 mark of the second period. Davis missed two free throws, the second of which McGhee rebounded. McGhee chucked a pass to Johnson, who streaked to the offensive end and sank a lay-in that cut OCU's deficit to 77-74 with 18 seconds left. A lane violation on a free-throw try gave OCU the ball to set up McGhee's trey.
In the extra period, McGhee nailed a 3 that put OCU in front for good 85-82 with 2:38 to go. McGhee's trey jumpstarted an 11-2 OCU run as McGhee scored seven points in that splurge.
"I know it's fun for the fans, but this is one of those games that test you," Phelps said. "It was a really good game."
The Stars scored the game's first 13 points. OCU hit 5 of its first 7 shots from the field, while Mid-America Christian missed its first six field-goal tries and two free-throw attempts.
OCU meets Texas Wesleyan at 8 p.m. Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.

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