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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Anthony Davis
76
Winner Oklahoma City OCU 11-9 (4-7 SAC)
71
Central Christian (Kan.) CCCK 9-10 (2-9 SAC)
Winner
Oklahoma City OCU
11-9 (4-7 SAC)
76
Final
71
Central Christian (Kan.) CCCK
9-10 (2-9 SAC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Oklahoma City OCU 36 40 76
Central Christian (Kan.) CCCK 33 38 71

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Langston

2/1/2020 | 3:45 p.m.

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Feb. 01 (Sat) / 3:45 p.m.
 Langston
History

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Back on Track with a 76-71 win at Central Christian

Stars get 19 from Davis to take Road Win to Open Second Half of SAC Play

MCPHERSON, Kan. - The Oklahoma City University men's basketball team opened the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play on Thursday night at Central Christian College needing a win to help keep themselves in a position to qualify for the SAC tournament. The Stars entered the night tied with Southwestern Christian University for the eighth and final spot in the SAC tournament, a half game behind both USAO and Langston. By the end of the evening, the Stars find themselves in a four-way tie for sixth in the standings.

OCU (11-9, 4-7 SAC) led for most of the night, but had to hold off a late charge from the Tigers (9-10, 2-9 SAC) to take the 76-71 win at Dr. Jerry E. Alexander Arena. The victory, coupled with SCU's win at Langston sets up a furious sprint to the finish line for the final three spots in the SAC postseason, with four teams tied and nine games left to play.

"When we needed the defense to step up down the stretch they did," said head coach Hank Aldous after the game. "We stepped up and made big plays when we needed them, and we got stops when we needed them. When we got to the foul line, we hit our free throws, and that was a big key for us."

OCU opened the game on a 7-0 run and led for most of the first half. Anthony Davis and Kealon Clayborne each scored in the paint, and Rashaun Coleman connected from long distance just 2:21 into the game to give OCU the 7-0 lead, and Central Christian subbed all five starters out of the game. A 6-0 OCU spurt moments later pushed the lead to 17-7, and the Stars led by 10 a total of four times in the middle stages of the half.

With OCU up 24-14, Central Christian rattled off six straight points to cut the deficit to 24-20 with 8:47 to play, and the Tigers eventually stretched their run to 16-4 as CCCK took a 30-28 lead with 2:46 to go in the opening half. after a Central Christian 3-pointer from Andrew Epps gave CCCK a 33-29 lead, OCU closed the opening frame on a 7-0 run to claim the lead back and go into the locker room up 36-33. 

Central Christian tied the game early in the second half at 38 apiece, and while OCU did not allow Central Christian to reclaim the advantage, struggled to create separation, and the game remained tied at 43 with 16:29 on the clock. Over the ensuing four minutes, OCU ran off a 10-0 run and turned away the tigers on five successive trips down the floor. The OCU lead eventually reached 11 on a bucket from Davis with 9:57 to play in the contest, but Central Christian began to whittle away.

The Tigers cut the margin to seven with 8:55 left, then went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to a single point at 62-61 with 6:09 to go, but the Stars managed to hold the lead. Over the final minutes of the game, Central Christian kept OCU from pulling away, but the Stars held on to the lead with each trip up and down the floor. OCU held the Tigers to three made shots in their final 10 attempts from the floor, and the Stars sealed the game at the foul line, holding on for the 76-71 victory.

Davis led the Stars with 19 points and added 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Claybourne and A.J. Cockrell added 13 points apiece, and Coleman poured in a dozen. 

As a team, OCU made 24 of 49 (49%) shots from the floor, and four of 10 (40%) from beyond the arc. They made their living at the charity stripe, however, cashing in 24 of 31 (77.4%) attempts as a team. OCU also doubled up Central Christian in the paint, 40-20, and the Stars held a 35-27 edge on the glass.

The Stars return home for a critical game on Saturday afternoon. OCU will host Langston University (11-9, 4-7 SAC) in a rematch of an overtime thriller from early in January. The game is slated to follow the women's portion of the double-header at 3:45 p.m. inside Abe Lemons Arena.
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Players Mentioned

Kealon Clayborne

#1 Kealon Clayborne

G
6' 3"
Junior
Anthony Davis

#23 Anthony Davis

F
6' 7"
Senior
Rashaun Coleman

#2 Rashaun Coleman

G
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Kealon Clayborne

#1 Kealon Clayborne

6' 3"
Junior
G
Anthony Davis

#23 Anthony Davis

6' 7"
Senior
F
Rashaun Coleman

#2 Rashaun Coleman

6' 0"
Junior
G