OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University blistered Bacone 97-63 on Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena.
Ridell Camidge, a senior from Wilmington, N.C., posted 21 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots for the Stars. OCU, ranked 21st in NAIA Division I men's basketball, went to 14-5, 7-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
The Stars tallied the game's first 13 points. Terence Bonhomme canned back-to-back 3-pointers, while Camidge sank a lay-in and a trey. When Camidge hit his 3, OCU went 4-for-5 from the field, while Bacone missed its first five shots from the floor with two turnovers.
Oklahoma City connected on 12 of its first 16 attempts from the field on the way to a 54.5 percent field-goal percentage. OCU hit 61.8 percent from the floor in the second half.
"I was proud of how we came out to start the game," OCU coach Vinay Patel said. "We really talked about our energy and effort in the second half."
Walter Rickett pocketed a steal, then converted the theft into a transition dunk for a 27-8 OCU advantage with 12:10 to go in the first period. The Stars turned Bacone's 22 turnovers into 27 points.
"Three games in a row we've held our opponent to 70 points or less," Patel said. "That's a sign of good things coming. We really generated our own energy just by talking defensively today. That helped us get some run-throughs. You saw Samuel Williams get a dunk. You saw Walter Rickett get a dunk. That really helped kick-start us in the second half."
Bonhomme, a senior from St. Martinville, La., tallied 17 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line, while Samuel Williams, a senior from Reno, Nev., picked up 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor for the Stars.
Ivan Saicic, a senior from Belgrade, Serbia, grabbed eight rebounds to spearhead the Stars' 43-31 rebounding advantage. Jonathan Ellis, a senior from Powder Springs, Ga., and Mark Howell, a junior from Grand Prairie, Texas, each dished out a team-best six assists to power OCU's 22-assist effort.
The Stars fell one assist shy of their season best of 23 against Randall on Nov. 13. OCU had a season-high six blocked shots.
Curtis Osceola dropped in a 3 to balloon the OCU lead to 95-56 with 2:08 remaining in the contest.
Oklahoma City takes on John Brown (Ark.) at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.