The men’s basketball team beat Wayland Baptist University 93-89 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
Prior to the win, Wayland Baptist University was undefeated for the season.
Senior Tharone Chilton topped the Stars with 21 points. The Stars improved to 4-3, 1-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while Wayland Baptist University fell to 8-1, 1-1.
Chilton dished out four assists and sank 7 of 10 field-goal attempts. Senior R.J. McGhee produced 16 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Junior Jamil Donovan established career highs with 15 points and five 3-pointers, and senior Gary Inglett added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Dorion Gigger contributed 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Stars made up a 16-point deficit by hitting 54.3 percent from the field in the second half. The Stars held Wayland Baptist University to 43.3 percent shooting from the floor in the second half after Wayland Baptist University put together 61.8 percent shooting in the first period.
“You have to hope that we’re going to cool off,” Coach Dionne Phelps said. “They shot it really well in the first half and into the second half. We didn’t want to hit the panic button, but there was a couple of things we weren’t doing defensively according to our scouting report, so that gave them a lot of great looks. It was just a breakdown in communications. Not taking anything away from their talent. They can hit shots whether you can a great scouting report drawn up or not.”
Wayland Baptist University had a 57-54 edge with 15:27 to go, and pushed its margin to 71-58 using Jordon Johnson’s transition bucket with 10:42 remaining. The Stars answered with a 19-6 run as Donovan nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game 77-77 at the 5:44 mark. Johnson had free throws to give Wayland Baptist University its final lead of the game with 5:05 showing on the clock.
Wayland Baptist University’s Robert Waters added a layup to tie the score 81-81 with 3:52 left. Inglett buried a 3 to ignite a 7-0 OCU flurry. McGhee chipped in a jumper in the lane, then Gigger rejected a shot that Chilton rebounded and scored with.
“Any time you can get a win it’s a good win,” Phelps said. “Everybody has to be ready. You just never know when your number is going to be called – not only be ready, but have an impact on the game. Jonathan Reed did a great job in the second half defending their best player. I was excited about our bench, too. Our bench was starting to talk more positively to each other. I’ll take that any day.”
Wayland Baptist University built an early 11-2 advantage.
“Wayland Baptist deserved the ranking they have – if not higher,” Phelps said. “They’re a very good team. They can shoot it and score it. They can go outside and go inside.”
The Stars play the University of St. Thomas at 2 p.m. Jan. 3 at Abe Lemons Arena.
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