Saturday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (4-3, 2-0 SAC) stayed perfect in conference-play with a thrilling 81-80 victory against Oklahoma City University (3-4, 1-1 SAC). The Drovers have now won five of the last six matchups against the Stars, dating back to Feb. 21, 2019.
For the second consecutive game, the contest went down to the wire, following USAO's 70-68 victory at John Brown University on Thursday, November 17, courtesy of Langston Gaither (SR/Alexander, VA)'s last second tip-in on an offensive rebound.
The first half was extremely back and forth, with the lead being exchanged 10 times in the first 20 minutes of action and neither team led by more than five points. Oklahoma City was able to take a narrow 36-33 lead into halftime.
Following the break, the Drovers got off to a hot start and pushed out to a 13-point lead with 9:14 remaining in regulation. However, the Stars would not go away, making an immediate comeback attempt every time USAO went on a run.
The Stars were able to tie the game five times in the closing minutes and even took a brief lead, but the Drovers were able to cling to victory in the final seconds of regulation.
The Drovers shot 25-55 (.455) from the field, and 9-27 (.333) from three-point range. In comparison, the Stars shot 27-69 (.391) from the field, and 10-25 (.400) from deep. Science & Arts held a 43-35 advantage in the rebounding battle, but the Stars forced USAO into committing 18 turnovers, while only committing 10 themselves. Both teams were very good at the free-throw line, with the Drovers going 22-27 (.815), and the Stars went 16-17 (.941).
Langston Gaither and Samkelo Cele (SR/Durban, South Africa) each scored 19 points to leads the Drovers in scoring. Gaither shot 7-12 from the field and added nine rebounds, while Cele contributed six rebounds and knocked down the game-winning free-throw with seven seconds remaining in the game. Furthermore, Cele was an impressive 11-13 at the charity stripe.
Cejay Mann (SO/Alma, AR) caught fire from beyond the arc and closed with 17 points on 6-11 shooting from the field, including 5-10 from three-point range. Mann also hauled in seven rebounds.
Gerard Makuntae (SR/Austell, GA) contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocks.
Cade Allen (SO/Hammon, OK) added five points, followed by Logan Dolan (SO/Broken Arrow, OK) and Jaden Harrell (SO/Oklahoma City, OK) with three points each. Dolan hauled in four rebounds and dished out a pair of assists, while Harrell corralled three rebounds and dished out four assists.
Tyler Cauley (SO/Riverview, FL) chipped in two points and three rebounds, but made his biggest impact by deterring a shot in the closing seconds of the game.
Original source can be found here
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