Southwestern Assemblies of God University men’s basketball St. Gregory’s University
The first half was decidedly in SAGU’s favor. Within the first five minutes, SAGU was able to make four three pointers. The Lions were able to extend their lead to 11 after a basket made by Josh Swearingin near the 13 minute mark.
SGU was able to answer with three made three pointers in a row of their own. That run helped to tie the game at 33-all with 5:33 left in the half. At halftime SAGU was in the lead 47-44 thanks to a basket by Dareny Sims at the buzzer.
Head coach Donnie Bostwick believes second half play was key to their victory, “I was very pleased overall with our effort especially coming off a 15 day break. We were able to change the game defensively early in the second half and that has been our focus.”
The Lions were able to regain the tempo in the second half and with 12:38 left in the game, SAGU was ahead 63-50.
“ Josh Williams and Isaak Rowe both did a really good job on their best two players. I felt that Dominique Josephs and Dareny Sims both stepped up and played well,” says Bostwick.
Starting near the two minute mark and continuing for the next minute, SAGU made it to the free throw line six times. They went 0-6, which Bostwick can see being a problem in upcoming games, “We shot the ball extremely well the first half and early in the second, but you could tell we lost our legs at the free throw line late. We need to finish better to beat the top teams in the conference.”
SAGU was led by senior Keyunta Watkins with 24 points. Watkins went five-for-10 from behind the arc. Sophomore Isaak Rowe had 20 points, three assists and two steals. Josh Williams had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The Lions will host the fifth ranked team in the nation on Saturday, January 7, 2017. Oklahoma City University is currently 12-1 overall and 3-0 in the SAC. Game time is at 5pm.
“SAC road wins are not easy to come by and now we need to protect our home court against a top team in the country in OCU. We need to tap into God for renewed strength and focus after getting home after 2 am last night. That is a big part of winning in conference season,” says Bostwick.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]
