OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University held onto a 66-63 victory over Mid-America Christian in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament quarterfinals Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Samuel Williams, a senior from Reno, Nev., supplied the Stars (22-7) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. OCU, ranked ninth in NAIA Division I, faces Wayland Baptist (Texas) at 8 p.m. Friday in the SAC Tournament semifinals in Siloam Springs, Ark.
Williams produced his team-high eighth double-double of the season while sinking 6 of his 8 shots from the floor. Jonathan Ellis, a senior from Powder Springs, Ga., posted 13 points, three assists and five steals plus 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line for Oklahoma City.
Ellis buried a jumper that put the Stars ahead 65-59 with 1:29 left. Ellis added a free-throw make with 18 seconds showing for the final score.
Keyshawn Perkins had a tip-in that cut OCU's lead to 57-55 at the 3:36 mark. Williams downed a pair of free throws for a 63-57 Oklahoma City edge with 2:23 to go.
"Not a pretty second half," OCU coach Vinay Patel said. "We had a phenomenal first half. Our guys really locked in defensively, flying around with lots of energy. We weren't shooting the ball great. Give MACU a lot of credit for that. They were all over us defensively with their pressure. We could not get stops when we needed to down the stretch. We got the key one at the end we needed to seal the game. Give MACU a lot of credit. If we didn't have the first half we had, we would be sitting home right now."
OCU mustered its season-low scoring output while limiting Mid-America Christian to the lowest point total by a Stars opponent. The Stars held Mid-America to 42.4 percent shooting from the field, but the Evangels shot 58.3 percent in the second half.
"We're used to playing in hectic environments," Patel said. "That's why we went and played a non-league game at Langston. We have had some great games whether it was at MACU, whether it was at Texas Wesleyan, at Southwestern Christian. So we've played in some crazy environments where teams come out and pressure you and the crowd's getting in you a little bit and yelling at you. I was frustrated by how we handled that. I thought we got quiet, and we weren't talking defensively. That caused a lot of mistakes."
The Stars roared to a 23-4 lead as Mid-America Christian missed its first 11 field-goal tries. Justin Bogle gave the Evangels (18-12) their first bucket on a putback with 9:18 left in the first half. OCU built a 36-16 halftime lead as Mid-America Christian shot 17.4 percent from the field in the first period.
"That was all because of our defense," Patel said. "We were surviving on that. We figured out a way to win without shots falling."
Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament
MEN
At campus sites
Tuesday's Results
Quarterfinals
Oklahoma City 66, Mid-America Christian 63
Southwestern Assemblies of God 96, Southwestern Christian 79
Texas Wesleyan 90, John Brown 79
Wayland Baptist 86, USAO 73
At Bill George Arena
Siloam Springs, Ark.
Friday's Games
Semifinals
Southwestern Assemblies of God vs. Texas Wesleyan, 6 p.m.
Oklahoma City vs. Wayland Baptist, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Championship
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
