Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Oklahoma City University Stars used a huge run late in the first half to take control and then held off the Mid-America Christian University Evangels for a 78-68 Sooner Athletic Conference win Thursday night (Dec. 8) at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University.
The first 15 minutes of the opening half was a back and forth affair, with the two schools exchanging the lead 11 times along with four ties.
OCU scored the first five of the game but a tip-in by George Haynes gave the Evangels their first lead at 8-7 at the 17:18 mark.
Over the next 15 minutes, the biggest lead for either team was three when a pair of free throws by Darius Gregory gave MACU a 12-9 advantage.
After a layup from Blake Larson gave the Evangels a two-point lead at 24-22, consecutive three-point plays by Tim Morton and Charlton Jones started a 13-0 spurt as the Stars built a double-digit lead of 11 points and went on to lead 37-28 at the break.
The Stars opened the second half with a three by Jones and a layup from Troynell Adams to pull out to a 42-28 lead.
Brandon Williams helped keep the Evangels in it with a three that cut the deficit to 45-37 with 14:01 left, but C.J. Busby hit a three to start a 9-2 run that put the Stars back in control at 54-39.
From that point, the Stars held the Evangels at bay as the closest MACU could get was eight on a layup by Gregory with 54 seconds that made it 74-66.
But Morton and Sam Ferguson each hit both of their free-throw attempts down the stretch to help the Stars close out the win.
Charlie Shorter had a team-high 18 points for the Evangels on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Williams scored 15 and Gregory added 11 points and dished out a team-best four assists. Cameron Langster led the Evangels with eight rebounds.
Morton powered the Stars with 18 points along with a game-high 12 boards. Jones scored 15, while Busby and Orlan Jackman each scored 12.
The Evangels forced 18 turnovers on the night and held a slim 42-41 edge on the boards. But the Stars were helped by a robust 49 percent (25-of-51) shooting from the field, while limiting the Evangels to only a 32 percent (24-of-75) shooting clip.
MACU will next play an exhibition tilt at NCAA D-II member East Central on Saturday night (Dec. 10) at 8 p.m. in Ada, Okla.
