PLAINVIEW, Texas – The Oklahoma City University men’s basketball used a late-game rally and a hot hand from the outside to earn the 54-49 victory over Wayland Baptist (Texas) at the Hutcherson Center.
OCU (14-8, 7-7) was led by a 29-point explosion by Brandon Moton, a junior from Beaumont, Texas. Moton was magical from 3-point range, sinking eight of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Orlan Jackmon, a junior from London, was the only other OCU player to crack double-digits with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Cesar Cuevas and Shane Rogers combined for 13 of the Stars’ 18 total assists in the game. OCU outshot the Pioneers 51.3 percent to 35.3 percent from the field, and were a blazing 8-of-9 on 3-point attempts in the second half.
Wayland Baptist started the second half on a 13-4 run that ended with a Johnny Terra 3-point basket to get an 11-point lead with 12:18 to play. The Stars spurted on a 14-0 run of their own to retake the lead. Moton had 11 points during the five minute span that saw the Stars get the 40-37 advantage. Silva scored the next five points to give Wayland Baptist the lead when Moton took control for the Stars.
Moton drained a three to get the Stars back on track and his hot hand from the outside allowed OCU to streak to their third straight win. In all, Moton swished four straight 3-pointers in the last 4:59 to ice the Pioneers. Wayland Baptist trimmed the score to 49-48 before Moton’s last triple put the lead at four with 29 seconds remaining. OCU’s defense held Wayland Baptist to 3-of-9 shooting in the last 4:14 of game action.
Though the Stars led the majority of the first half, OCU could never extend their advantage past five points. OCU was up 13-8 with 7:15 remaining in the first half and again at 22-17 with 2:06 to play in the period. However, Wayland Baptist kept battling and managed to tie the game on five occasions in the first 20 minutes. The Pioneers took a 24-22 lead into the halftime locker room after Rodrigo Silva sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds left in the first half.
OCU returns from the road to face Northwestern on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Abe Lemons Arena.
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