OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City men's basketball team prevailed with a big second-half surge to earn its third straight win and keep themselves in the running for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament after scoring 42 second-half points to take down UNT-Dallas 73-60.
Senior Brandon Jackson shot an efficient 8-of-12 from the floor, matching a season-high 66.7 FG%, and finished with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Avery Jackson tied a career-high of 10 rebounds to notch his second double-double of his career after scoring 16 points while going 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Freshman Yorgio Golesis rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Stars by adding 11 points while dishing out four dimes and going 7-for-10 from the stripe. Parker Jones added seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists while Clayton Jewell stepped in off the bench and grabbed nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Although trailing the game by two at the break, 33-31, and down by five three minutes in, Oklahoma City enjoyed an 11-0 run after a pair of treys by Brandon Jackson to give the Stars their biggest lead up to this point with 13:37 left to play.
Oklahoma City led up to 14 on two occasions with a slam by freshman Clayton Jewell and then a layup by Avery Jackson with 5:20 to play.
The Trailblazers pulled to as close as nine points underneath the 11-minute mark whereas Oklahoma City closed out the final 1:50 with a 7-3 run as Golesis and Brandon Jackson sunk a pair of foul shots each leading to a Jackson three which sealed the deal to give Oklahoma City a 13-point win on Saturday afternoon.
Despite a season-high 24 turnovers, OCU controlled the glass outrebounding the Trailblazers by a 49-32 margin.
Oklahoma City and UNT-Dallas split the season series after UNTD defeated the Stars for the first time back on Jan. 6.
Oklahoma City will hit the road for one crucial game against Texas Wesleyan as OCU sits one game back of the Rams for the eighth spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings.
