OKLAHOMA CITY - On day three of the Abe Lemons Classic Northern New Mexico held off the comeback of Oklahoma City as the Stars dropped their second consecutive contest to round out the classic. 

The Oklahoma City Stars (1-2) came back from down 14 to tie it up with a minute to play however Northern New Mexico (1-1) closed out the final 60 seconds on a 6-0 run to earn a 72-66 victory. 

The Stars took its first lead at 15-13 after Yorgio Golesis laid one in at the cup to ignite a 7-2 run that Clayton Jewell capped off with five straight points including one from range. 

Tied up again at 26-26 the Eagles rattled off a 9-4 run to close out the final four minutes of the first half to take a 35-30 lead into the break after Jewell finished a slam to bring it to within five. 

Northern New Mexico took control in the second half by taking as much as a 14-point lead halfway through. The Eagles remained on top with 5:23 to go leading 66-53 after a pair of free throws from Joziah Ramos
. 

Nearing the five-minute mark the Stars kicked it into gear as Avery Jackson scored the next five straight points for the Stars capping it off with a three-point play. The Stars defense tuned up as well drawing back-to-back steals from Golesis who finished with a fastbreak layup followed by a Brandon Jackson steal that was taken coast to coast and dunked it down to bring the Stars within four. 

The Stars completed their 13-0 run with a layup to tie the game by the freshman Golesis and all of the momentum rode with OCU. After going 1-2 from the line the Eagles grabbed the offensive board which led to a three-pointer giving the Eagles four consecutive points swinging the momentum OCU once had. 

Northern New Mexico was able to defend off the Stars on the final possession and two free throws with little time left gave the Eagles a 72-66 victory. 

Avery Jackson led the way for the Stars with a new season-high of 24 points on 8-21 shooting to go along with seven boards. 

Brandon Jackson finished off his stellar classic play with 15 points while going a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe. 

The freshman from Australia Clayton Jewell reflected his efficient performance from Thursday night with 11 points on 5-8 shooting while knocking down one of the Stars two three-pointers. 

Oklahoma City struggled from beyond the arc going 2-17 while the Eagles shot 35.1% going 8-22 from three. 

Northern New Mexico held a 44-32 advantage in the rebound department while the Eagles grabbed 18 offensive rebounds that powered them to a victory.

The 2023 Abe Lemons Classic comes to a close as OCU goes 1-2 in the classic while Wayland Baptist finished as the only unbeaten aquad going 2-0 after wins over Missouri Baptist on Friday and Florida College on Saturday. 

The Stars will return to the floor on Thursday, Nov. 9 against Ottawa (Ariz.) at 7 PM inside Abe Lemons Arena.