The men’s basketball team won their conference championship game with seconds to spare.
The Stars played against John Brown University in the final game of the Sooner Athletic Conference. The conference tournament was Friday and Saturday in Abe Lemons Arena in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. The Stars won 74-73 with less than five seconds left in the game.
The Stars qualified for the final match after a March 1 game against Oklahoma Panhandle State University. The Stars won 73-69.
Senior Guard Chris Williams was named Most Valuable Player of the season. Williams scored 22 points in the game against JBU.
“I’m just happy,” Williams said. “I love playing with this group of guys, and I’m just happy we came out with the win. For everybody, for the coaches, for all of us. We worked hard for this.”
The Stars were down by one point when Junior Guard Trae Bryant made a last-minute charge toward the goal and scored a lay up with 4.6 seconds on the clock.
Junior Guard Kealon Clayborne said the team played hard until the end.
“It really came down to the wire,” Clayborne said. “We had to scratch and fight a little bit, but we got the win, and we’re conference champs.”
Assistant Coach Ryan Litzinger said the game involved a lot of preparation.
“We went back and watched both of our games from this season that we played against JBU,” he said. “You can only do so much when you have that quick of a turn around. When you’re playing in the evening one night and then suddenly the next afternoon, so you just try to keep it as simple as possible.”
Litzinger said March Madness gives the team the opportunity to really play.
“That’s how it is in March with all of these tournament games; you’re playing so quickly and you can only do so much,” he said. “That’s the fun of it, though. These guys can just go out and play ball. Whatever we did, I guess it worked out alright.”
The Stars played against JBU on Feb. 2, and the results were similar to the championship game, Litzinger said.
“We played them here, and we beat them by one point in the last second,” he said. “Kind of déjà vu a little. Basketball gods are crazy sometimes.”
Athletic Director Jim Abbott said the Stars have about 10 days to prepare for the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship.
“You work and you work and hope that you get the opportunity to deliver,” Abbott said. “It’s just seeing students get to do what they love to do. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t, but fortunately, tonight we got the win.”
Loren Matrone, cellular and molecular biology sophomore and women’s golfer, said she attended the game to support her fellow athletes.
“It was so fun to be able to watch our team, especially because they weren’t even expected to make it past the first round,” Matrone said. “This is a big win for everyone in the athletic department as well as the men’s basketball team, and we’re so proud of them for how hard they’ve worked all season.”
The championships will happen March 20-26 in Kansas City, Missouri. The women’s basketball team will compete in the NAIA Division I National Tournament in Billings, Montana, on March 13-19.
Litzinger said he is excited for the future of the men’s team.
“I’m just proud of them. They fought really hard,” he said. “We’ve been here since August prepping for this, and I’m really happy.”
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