OKLAHOMA CITY - Avery Jackson showcases a 25-point outing while going a perfect 11-11 from the foul line despite the Stars second-half push coming to a halt as Ottawa conceded an 87-81 victory on Thursday night. 

Oklahoma City (1-3) got off to a slow start in the first half as the Stars struggled from the field shooting 35.9%. Ottawa (2-1) capitalized on the Stars struggles with hot start shooting the basketball going 45.5% from the field and 53.8% from deep with seven threes. 

After going 1-5 from the field with only four points Avery Jackson came out in the second half on a mission, opening up the period with a three-point basket to get the Stars going. Jackson finished the half with 21 points while putting the Stars back in the ball game giving OCU a chance to win it at the end. 

Trailing by as much as 11 and down by eight with 8:45 to go the Stars began to inch closer and claw their way back. OCU turned in an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to just two after two big plays from OCU freshman Yorgio Golesis and Clayton Jewell as Golesis stole the ball away and laid in the fastbreak goal followed by a clutch three-pointer from Clayton Jewell with 7:49 to play as Ottawa led 73-71. 

The story of the evening was the Stars being one stop away multiple times however the Spirit continued to answer not allowing the Stars to tie or take the lead. Jackson was able to knock down four consecutive free throws to bring Oklahoma City to within three with 21 seconds to go. 

On the inbound, OCU went for the trap to try and draw a steal however OUAZ was able to break the press and hit their free throws to close out the contest with an 87-81 win inside Abe Lemons Arena. 

OCU forced 24 points off 15 turnovers as the freshman Golesis led the Stars with a season-high three steals. 

Parker Jones went for his first double-double of the season as Jones notched 15 points on 7-12 shooting while hauling in a season-high 13 rebounds.

Oklahoma City only held as much as a three-point lead coming back in the first half with 17:05 to play. Ottawa reached up to a 14-point lead while maintaining control for the majority of the contest. 

Thursday's game was only the second time these two schools have met as Ottawa remains unbeaten against OCU as the Stars fell in the first-ever meeting a season ago 90-83. 

The Stars will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for their homecoming game against Friends University inside Abe Lemons Arena at 3:45 PM.