GOODWELL, Okla. – Oklahoma City University was defeated in the final seconds by Panhandle State 98-97 on Thursday night at the Oscar Williams Field House. Fedja Cukle hit the game-winning free throw.
Kori Guest led the Stars with 25 points. OCU led for 38:26 minutes and shot 41 percent from deep. OCU fell to 6-8, 4-4 in Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball.
Guest, a senior criminal justice major from Tulsa, Okla., supplied five rebounds and three assists and shot 70 percent from the field. The Stars had five players in double figures.
OCU's
Brandon Jackson, a junior human performance major from Westmont, Calif. had 18 to go with four boards and four assists.
Dravon Clayborn, a senior business administration major from Evanston, Ill., had 14.
Parker Jones, a sophomore business administration major from Russellville, Ky., came off the bench and gave the Stars a boost with 14 points and six rebounds. He went perfect from the field on six for six shooting.
Avery Jackson supplied 12 points.
OCU was up by as much as 16 and led the Aggies 62-48 to start the second half. Coming into the game the Aggies were winless in conference play and had only shot over 55 percent from the field in one game, their win over Barclay College. The momentum started to shift in the second half after OPSU made a few runs to shorten the Stars' lead. OCU hung on strong until 6:37 when they got within three points. OCU relinquished the lead with 1:14 remaining after a jumper from Kaleb Stephens.
Brandon Jackson hit a three to retake the lead but a dunk by Justin Pile tied it again with 26 seconds remaining. With a chance at a game-winner, Jackson had the ball stolen by Cukle, and he would proceed to hit free throws to secure the Aggies win.
The Aggies shot 55.9 percent on the game and 62.5 percent in the second half in route to their comeback victory. The Stars struggled to find any rhythm shooting just 41.7 percent in the second half compared to 60 percent in the first half. They out-rebounded OCU by 10.
OCU will look to win their first game of the new year at No. 22 Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Sat. at 3:45 p.m.
