OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University fell short to St. Gregory's 81-78 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Lou Dunbar's 3-point heave missed short as time ran out for the Stars. Oklahoma City, ranked eighth in NAIA Division I men's basketball, dropped to 13-4, 4-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Tyler Alderman provided OCU with a season-best 24 points while hauling in nine rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Alderman, a senior from Fishers, Ind., hit a putback with five seconds left to cut the Stars' deficit to three points and a follow shot with 20 seconds remaining to reduce St. Gregory's edge to 78-76.
Xavier Smith, a senior from Richardson, Texas, supplied the Stars with his ninth double-double, posting 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, and Syrus McDonald, a senior from Flint, Mich., collected 11 points, seven assists and two steals. Dunbar, a junior from Seabrook, Texas, tallied nine points on three treys.
St. Gregory's built a 40-39 rebounding edge. St. Gregory's outscored OCU 23-8 from the foul line in the second period.
"They outplayed us," OCU coach Vinay Patel said. "This is the fourth time in five games we've been outrebounded. You can't win consistently in this league if you get outrebounded. I tip my hat to Dylan Lemley, he does a tremendous job at St. Greg's. It's what we've worked on more than anything these past few days."
McDonald's 3-point play ignited a 10-0 OCU run, building a 23-14 lead with 7:28 left in the first half. Smith added a jumper and a pair of free throws, and Dunbar sank a transition 3 that capped the spree.
The Stars held onto the lead until Mladen Perak of St. Gregory's scored on a lay-in that tied the game 63-63 with 8:02 left. Jordan Rutherford nailed free throws to put St. Gregory's ahead 65-63 with 7:22 to go. The Cavaliers stood in the front the rest of the way.
St. Gregory's dealt OCU its first home loss of the season after seven Stars wins at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU had an eight-game home win streak as USAO gave the Stars their last home loss Feb. 20, 2016.
Oklahoma City takes on 12th-ranked Texas Wesleyan at 5 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.
