Men's Basketball 12/6/2014 7:39:00 PM

OCU rallies past Wayland Baptist 93-89

Stars erase 16-point deficit to give Wayland Baptist its first loss of season

R.J. McGhee provided OCU with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field Saturday.

Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University upended previously unbeaten Wayland Baptist (Texas) 93-89 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Tharone Chilton, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., topped OCU with 21 points. The Stars improved to 4-3, 1-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while Wayland Baptist, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I men's basketball, fell to 8-1, 1-1 in the SAC.
Chilton dished out four assists and sank 7 of 10 field-goal attempts. R.J. McGhee, a senior from Baton Rouge, La., produced 16 points, four rebounds and three assists for Oklahoma City.
The Stars' Jamil Donovan, a junior from Oklahoma City, established career highs with 15 points and five 3-pointers, and Gary Inglett, a senior from Ardmore, Okla., added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Dorion Gigger, a sophomore from Moore, Okla., contributed 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for OCU.
Oklahoma City made up a 16-point deficit by hitting 54.3 percent (19-for-35) from the field in the second half. The Stars held Wayland Baptist to 43.3 percent shooting from the floor in the second half after Wayland put together 61.8 percent shooting in the first period.
"You have to hope that were going to cool off," OCU coach Dionne Phelps said. "They shot it really well in the first half and into the second half. We didn't want to hit the panic button, but there was a couple of things we weren't doing defensively according to our scouting report, so that gave them a lot of great looks. It was just a breakdown in communications. Not taking anything away from their talent. They can hit shots whether you can a great scouting report drawn up or not."
Plamen Hristov increased Wayland Baptist's lead to 55-39 with a trey with 19:22 left in the game. OCU responded with a 13-2 surge that Donovan capped with a 3 from the corner off Inglett's feed. Wayland clung to a 57-54 edge with 15:27 to go.
Wayland Baptist pushed its margin to 71-58 using Jordon Johnson's transition bucket with 10:42 remaining. OCU answered with a 19-6 run as Donovan nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game 77-77 at the 5:44 mark. Johnson had free throws to give Wayland its final lead of the game with 5:05 showing on the clock.
Wayland Baptist's Robert Waters added a layup to tie the score 81-81 with 3:52 left. Inglett buried a 3 to ignite a 7-0 OCU flurry. McGhee chipped in a jumper in the lane, then Gigger rejected a shot that Chilton rebounded and scored with.
"Any time you can get a win it's a good win," Phelps said. "Everybody has to be ready. You just never know when your number is going to be called – not only be ready, but have an impact on the game. Jonathan Reed did a great job in the second half defending their best player. I was excited about our bench, too. Our bench was starting to talk more positively to each other. I'll take that any day."
Wayland Baptist built an early 11-2 advantage.
"Wayland Baptist deserved the ranking they have – if not higher," Phelps said. "They're a very good team. They can shoot it and score it. They can go outside and go inside."
Oklahoma City meets St. Thomas (Texas) at 2 p.m. Jan. 3 at Abe Lemons Arena.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#3 Jamil Donovan: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#32 Dorion Gigger: F; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#1 R.J. McGhee: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#2 Gary Inglett: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#11 Tharone Chilton: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Jonathan Ellis: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Jamil Donovan
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#32 Dorion Gigger
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: F

#1 R.J. McGhee
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#2 Gary Inglett
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#11 Tharone Chilton
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#24 Jonathan Ellis
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G