OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University held onto a 90-86 win over Langston on Tuesday night at Abe Lemons Arena.
Tyler Alderman and Lou Dunbar spearheaded the Stars with 16 points each. Oklahoma City, ranked 18th in NAIA Division I men's basketball, improved to 4-0.
Alderman, a senior from Fishers, Ind., added five rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots, while Dunbar, a junior from Seabrook, Texas, contributed five rebounds and four 3-pointers for OCU. Terence Bonhomme, a junior from St. Martinville, La., recorded 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Stars.
OCU's Walter Rickett, a junior from Dallas, produced 12 points and two steals on 6-for-8 shooting from the field, and Xavier Smith, a senior from Richardson, Texas, posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.
Oklahoma City withstood 15-2 and 10-2 second-half Langston runs. Michael Harris scored on a transition layup with 56 seconds to go to shrink the Stars' lead to 84-82. Harris capped Langston's 15-2 onslaught with a 3-pointer and a free throw that sliced OCU's lead to 75-72 with 6:04 remaining.
"I didn't feel good probably the last four minutes of the game," OCU coach Vinay Patel said. "That was an ugly finish to a very well-played game by us for 35 minutes."
Dunbar and Jonathan Reed sank four free throws in the final 15 seconds to keep Langston at bay. Curtis Jones had lay-ins to keep Langston within two points in the last 10 seconds.
Bonhomme's fastbreak bucket put the Stars up 73-57 at the 9:23 mark of the second half. OCU shot 57.6 percent from the floor in the first half.
The Stars notched the most blocked shots in NAIA Division I this season with 14.
OCU encounters 14th-ranked Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) at 6 p.m. Friday in the St. Gregory's Thanksgiving Classic in Shawnee, Okla.