Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) men’s basketball Oklahoma City University Sooner Athletic Conference NAIA National Championship
SAGU had played OCU (21-9) nine days earlier and walked away with the 75-58 win. Friday’s contest was a much different story, “First I want to congratulate OCU. It was a hard fought battle and both teams represented well,” say head coach Donnie Bostwick, “We did not adjust well to the officials and they didn’t blow their whistle much last night. That is often the case in post-season play so hopefully we can learn from it.”
In the first ten minutes of play, the score read more like a baseball game. Both teams struggled to make shots. With 9:45 left in the first half, SAGU’s Lance Tipton made two free throws to bring SAGU within five. The score was 10-5.
The pace did pick up, and SAGU was able to pull within two after two more made baskets at the free throw line by Adrian Palacios , 28-26. OCU’s Lou Dunbar quickly hit a three before halftime to put the Stars ahead 31-26.
In the first half, the Lions shot 19% from the field.
“On a night where we shot absolutely horrible, to have a chance with two minutes left to cut the game to two points, speaks volumes to our effort. 21 offensive rebounds and 15 steals are examples of that,” says Bostwick.
OCU kept the lead throughout the second half. With 3:49 left to play, the Stars extended their lead to 12 points. Lance Tipton stepped up to the free throws line and made both attempts. Josh Williams came up big in the next few trips down the floor, and scored six points.
With 19 seconds left, Dareny Sims hit a three pointer to cut OCU’s lead to four at 66-62. SAGU couldn’t come any closer.
SAGU’s Josh Williams and Keyunta Watkins both scored 13 points. Lance Tipton added 11 points. Williams also had 10 rebounds.
OCU’s Lou Dunbar led all scorers with 23 points.
SAGU will wait for Wednesday’s announcement from the NAIA where they will find out who they play in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. The selection show can be watched at 6pm on NAIA.org .
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]
