Men’s basketball suffers close loss

The men’s basketball team lost,81-78, with 2.7 seconds left in the game against Mid-America Christian Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.

Mid-America Christian (10-6, 3-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) scored the game’s final seven points, and the Stars went to 6-4, 2-2 in SAC men’s basketball.

Senior Gary Inglett boosted the Stars with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior Tharone Chilton provided OCU with 14 points and five assists, and senior R.J. McGhee added 12 points and three rebounds.

Sophomore Dorion Gigger chipped in nine points and five rebounds, while junior Jamil Donovan contributed eight points and a game-high seven assists for the Stars. Freshman Jonathan Reed snatched a team-high four steals.

Gigger’s jumper gave OCU a 78-74 advantage and capped an 8-0 Stars run with 1:32 to go. The Stars held Mid-America Christian to 35.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half, and dug out of a 15-point deficit.

“We decided to play hard and try to get back into it and try to fight,” Coach Dionne Phelps said. “If our starting five can match the guys who are coming off the bench with their energy and their passion for the game, I think we’ll be fine. That’s something I’m trying to teach our group a little bit, and that’s having a sense of urgency.”

Mid-America Christian answered with Josh Smith’s lay-in at the 1:22 mark. Semar Farris of Mid-America tied the game with a bucket with 54 seconds remaining. After Massenburge’s trey, Donovan tried a desperation heave from nearly 30 feet out that missed the mark in an attempt to send the game to overtime.

Mid-America built an early 17-6 cushion by hitting 7 of its first 10 shots from the floor. The Stars committed five turnovers during that span.

“The last shot that went in resulted in the win, but that wasn’t the reason we lost it,” Phelps said. “We lost the game the first half. We had no energy, no passion and did not come to compete in the first half.”

The Stars visit Southwestern Christian for an 8 p.m. contest Thursday in Bethany, Okla.