OKLAHOMA CITY – Twenty-four first-half points from Oklahoma City University's Chris Williams led the Stars to a 102-90 victory Friday in the Mid-America Christian Classic at the Gaulke Activity Center.
OCU, ranked fifth in NAIA Division I men's basketball, moved to 3-1 on the season. Northern New Mexico dropped to 3-2 overall in the loss. Williams, a senior from Denver, powered the Stars with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists.
"It was great to see our team finish this stretch of games off with a win," OCU head coach Vinay Patel said. "We were a little shorthanded due to some injuries, but I give our group of guys a lot of credit for coming out and competing like they did tonight.  Our effort on the glass is what gave us the advantage in this game. Not only did I think our posts did a good job rebounding, but we had guards come up with some big ones down the stretch."
Four other Oklahoma City players joined Williams with double-digit scoring performances. Trae Bryant, a junior from Wilmington, N.C., poured in 21 points on the night. Eric McCollum, a senior from Newburgh, N.Y., notched 17 points, Eric Wattree, a junior from Port Orchard, Wash., scored 13 and Anthony Davis, a junior from Lewisville, Texas, tallied 12.
Northern New Mexico jumped out to an 11-4 lead four minutes into the game, hitting shots from beyond the arc and keeping the OCU offense at bay. The Stars battled back as the first half wore on and took the lead for good when Williams made his second free throw at the 9:15 mark of the first half to put the Stars up 31-30. OCU found its offensive rhythm in the half and exploded on a 29-18 run to end the half.
The Stars outrebounded Northern New Mexico 44-30 with McCollum grabbing 11 rebounds and Elijah Christman pulling down eight. OCU shot 51.7 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range for the game, while the Eagles finished the half shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from deep.
Northern New Mexico had six players score in double figures and were led by Makye Richards with 17 points. The difference in the game was the Stars made 26-for-32 from the free-throw line, whereas the Eagles made 15 of 21 free-throw tries.
"It was great to see Trae Bryant have his best game of the year in this early portion of the season," Patel said. "He did a nice job of pushing our pace and finding the right spots to score. Hopefully we can get a little rest before facing Randall University on Tuesday. They have one of the best small-college basketball programs in the country, and we have our work cut out for us as we prepare for them."
Oklahoma City plays next at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Randall at Abe Lemons Arena.