OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City University men’s basketball team picked up a much-needed 98-63 win over conference opponent St. Gregory’s on Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena.
The Stars (16-10, 9-9) recorded their highest point total in conference play in the rout. All twelve men for OCU put at least one point on the board and raked down at least one rebound off the glass. OCU was led by a balanced offensive attack that saw five hit double-digit scoring.
“I felt like it was an opportunity for us not only to build some momentum, but to rest some of our players,” OCU coach Kevin Morrissey said. “We were real diversified in not only points scored, but in minutes played. I felt like those guys that came off the bench played hard and helped a lot tonight.”
Dee Proby and Brandon Moton both turned in 16-point performances for the Stars. Proby, a senior from Round Rock, Texas, also had nine total rebounds, eight on the defensive glass. Orlan Jackman and Kaleb Smith added 13 points apiece. Nate Flowers, a senior from Waldorf, Md., chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds for OCU. Moton, Smith and Flowers all came off the bench to contribute strong offensive performances for the Stars.
OCU scored 57 second-half points and drained 58.3 percent of their shot attempts in the last 20 minutes of game action. The Stars went on a 10-2 run that extended the lead to 57-30 with 15:03 remaining. Bryant Williams dished off to Proby for the easy lay-in to end the run. The game never got closer than a 22-point margin in the last 15 minutes of action. The lead swelled to a 35-point margin of victory by the final buzzer.
OCU has played a string of eight games decided by single digits. Sixteen of the Stars’ last 21 games have been decided by 10 or fewer points. This win marked the largest winning margin and highest point total since Nov. 13, 2010 for OCU.
The Stars claimed an early lead that stretched to double figures after Johnny Stephene drained a 3-pointer to make the score 25-15 with 8:32 to play in the first half. The halftime score was 41-24 in favor of the Stars after OCU closed the half on a 7-2 run.
St. Gregory’s Fayzon Richey led all game scorers with 33 points, but converted on just 12 of his 31 shot attempts from the field.
The Stars outshot the Cavaliers 53.7 percent to 37.9 percent in the contest. OCU won the rebounding edge 47-31 and got an impressive 56 points from the bench. OCU hit 15-of-20 attempts from the free throw line, including 11-of-12 in the second half.
I felt like this is something we needed after those last two games, a little momentum going into OBU on Saturday,” Morrissey said. “We really need to play at a high level these next four games to close the regular season.”
The Stars travel to face the conference-leading and ninth-ranked Oklahoma Baptist for an 8 p.m. matchup Saturday in Shawnee, Okla
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