Waxahachie, Texas- February 7, 2016- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) men’s basketball team dropped a Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) game to Oklahoma City University , 52-49. The game came down to one final three point shot and miss by SAGU at the buzzer. SAGU is now 6-6 in the SAC and 15-9 overall. OCU is ranked no. 25 in the NAIA with a 8-4 SAC record and a 11-7 record overall.
Three weeks ago, SAGU played the Stars in Oklahoma City. The game went into overtime and was won in the final seconds with a three pointer by Jason Gentry . In the final seconds of Saturday’s game it looked like the same situation might play out, but that just wasn’t the case.
“I am proud of my guy’s effort tonight. When we shoot that poorly and still have a chance to win, you know we are trying,” explains SAGU head coach Donnie Bostwick , “Emmanuel was really our only guy that was able to get anything going on the offensive end for us. Both teams made great hustle plays, crashed the offensive boards and played with a lot of heart. I take my hat off to their team as they found a way to win; we did that same thing at their place.”
As Bostwick said, the Lions did have trouble shooting. For three pointers, they were three for 29, shooting at 10.3%. To be fair, OCU had their own set of troubles, going two for 20 at 10% from behind the arc.
The Lions held the lead for first half. With 1:02 left in the half, SAGU’s Remington Mitchell made two free throws to go up by 11. OCU made four quick points to make the halftime score a little closer at 31-24, Lions.
SAGU continued to hold the lead until four minutes left in the game when OCU’s Dorian Gigger made a three pointer to tie the game for the first time of the night at 41-all.
With 1:45 left in the game, Rishaad Alexander made a basket to tie the game at 48. The final minute came down to free throws. SAGU was one for two from the line and OCU went four for six. With 15 seconds left SAGU was down by three points. Emmanuel Adoyi got a defensive rebound and SAGU took possession. The Lions had a three point miss with four seconds left. Rishaad Alexander got the rebound but the Lions were unable to tie the game.
“I take responsibility for our losses of late. I have not made the right play calls, substitutions, timeouts, and adjustments at half. I have made a commitment to my guys to do better,” says Bostwick.
SAGU’s Emmanuel Adoyi had 17 points, ten rebounds and three steals. Rishaad Alexander had ten points and five assists. Keyunta Watkins had ten rebounds for the Lions.
OCU’s Terence Bonhomme had 17 points and ten rebounds.
On Thursday, February 11, SAGU will travel to Muskogee, Oklahoma to take on Bacone (2-21 overall and 1-11 in the SAC). Game time is at 8pm.
After Bacone, SAGU will return home for three home games in a row. Bostwick is striving to bring a big crowd back to the Sheaffer Gym, “We have some big home games left and the SAC Tournament at home this year. Our home court advantage based on having a packed gym with loud crowd is about half what it was two years ago. We have to put a better product on the floor so we can get our fan base back out.”
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, Sports Information, [email protected]
