OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University seized a share of the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season men's basketball championship with a 77-74 victory over Texas Wesleyan on Sunday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Ridell Camidge and Samuel Williams topped OCU with 17 points each. The Stars, ranked 12th in NAIA Division I, finished the regular season 22-7, 14-6 in the SAC, while 20th-ranked Texas Wesleyan went to 21-9, 14-6.
Oklahoma City secured the second seed in the SAC Tournament. The Stars host Mid-America Christian at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals.
OCU reeled in its first SAC regular-season crown since winning the conference title in 2007-08. Oklahoma City owns 12 SAC regular-season championships. Texas Wesleyan, the defending national champion, clinched the top seed in the league tournament and a piece of the SAC title with its 78-75 win over Central Christian (Kan.) on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.
"I'm a little bit emotional over it," OCU coach Vinay Patel said. "It's what I sold when I came here. What we envisioned right here is today. They've helped build this thing. To achieve it with those guys is really special to me."
Camidge, a senior from Wilmington, N.C., sank all seven of his free-throw attempts, while Williams, a senior from Reno, Nev., added five rebounds and shot 8-for-11 from the field.
Terence Bonhomme, a senior from St. Martinville, La., scored 15 points, including free throws with nine seconds left that helped OCU cinch the victory. Lou Dunbar, a senior from Seabrook, Texas, contributed nine points while sinking three treys, including his 200th career 3-pointer for the Stars.
"We've been playing very well down the stretch," Patel said. "We've talked all year long we want to play our best late February going into March, and I believe we're doing that. We're getting a lot out of our basketball team."
Camidge connected on a baseline jumper off a feed from Dunbar to give OCU a 75-72 edge with 22 seconds remaining. Branden Jenkins cut Texas Wesleyan's deficit to 73-72 by hitting a pair of shots from behind the free-throw line with 1:19 to go. Jenkins spearheaded the Rams with 28 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
"That was a big-time game from two really good teams," Patel said. "It was a battle to the end. We knew it would be. I'm very proud of our basketball team. We got a lot of help from a lot of players today."
The Stars held their largest lead just before halftime. Walter Rickett threw down an alley-oop dunk off Ivan Saicic's pass to put OCU on top 42-30 with 34 seconds showing.
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
At campus sites
Tuesday's Games
Quarterfinals
Game 1: John Brown (16-13) at Texas Wesleyan (21-9), 7 p.m.
Game 2: Southwestern Christian (18-12) at Southwestern Assemblies of God (21-9), 7 p.m.
Game 3: USAO (21-9) at Wayland Baptist (21-8), 8 p.m.
Game 4: Mid-America Christian (18-11) at Oklahoma City (22-7), 8 p.m.
At Bill George Arena
Siloam Springs, Ark.
Friday's Games
Semifinals
Times TBD
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday, March 3
Championship
Game 7: Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
Sooner Athletic Conference
Regular-season champions
MEN
1978-79—Oklahoma Christian
1979-80—Oklahoma Christian
1980-81—Phillips, Southern Nazarene
1981-82—Oklahoma Christian
1982-83—Oklahoma Christian
1983-84—Oklahoma Baptist
1984-85—Oklahoma Christian
1985-86—Oklahoma Christian
1986-87—Oklahoma City
1987-88—Oklahoma Christian
1988-89—Oklahoma Christian
1989-90—Oklahoma Baptist
1990-91—Oklahoma City
1991-92—Oklahoma City
1992-93—Oklahoma Baptist
1993-94—Oklahoma City
1995-96—Oklahoma City
1996-97—Oklahoma Baptist
1997-98—Phillips
1998-99—Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma Christian, Oklahoma City
1999-2000—Oklahoma City
2000-01—USAO
2001-02—Oklahoma Baptist
2002-03—Oklahoma Baptist
2003-04—Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Baptist
2004-05—Oklahoma Christian
2005-06—Oklahoma City
2006-07—Oklahoma City
2007-08—Oklahoma City
2008-09—Rogers State
2009-10—Oklahoma Baptist
2010-11—Oklahoma Baptist
2011-12—Oklahoma Baptist
2012-13—John Brown
2013-14—Southwestern Assemblies of God
2014-15—Mid-America Christian
2015-16—Texas Wesleyan
2016-17—Texas Wesleyan
2017-18—Oklahoma City, Texas Wesleyan
