OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City moved into the finals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday, beating top-seeded and fifth-ranked Nelson, 91-85.
 
OCU led for much of the game, taking the lead for good at the 17:37 mark of the first half. The Stars led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 47-48 lead into halftime.
 
"We were playing tough and disciplined. We shot it pretty well, but the defensive intensity and focus it what I noticed early," said OCU Head Coach Sam Kohnke. "The guys executed what we talked about."
 
The Lions trimmed the lead to two points quickly in the second half, but Jonas Carlisle and Beau Tranter answered with three-pointers to stem the Nelson surge. Nelson got as close as four points the rest of the way, but the Stars had an answer for everything NU had to throw at them.
 
Tranter came off the bench for a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double. Carlisle and Brian Alexander had 19 points each with Alexander gathering nine rebounds. Jackson Hopps had 15 points.
 
The win pits OCU against No. 9 Langston in the tournament finals at 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will be the first trip to the conference finals for the Stars since beating John Brown in the 2019 title tilt.
 
The SAC Tournament is hosted by OCU in Abe Lemons Arena and sponsored by Athletic Solutions.