NAIA
[Men's Basketball] #10 Science & Arts Stumbles on Senior Day Against Oklahoma City
CHICKASHA, Okla. – Saturday afternoon, the No. 10 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (24-5, 19-3 SAC) suffered a tough 103-102 loss against a hungry Oklahoma City University (16-13, 15-7 SAC). Following the annual Senior Day ceremony, honoring the Drovers senior class, Science & Arts got off to a bit of a slow start, allowing OCU to jump out to a 10-point lead with 14:01 remaining in the first half. The Drovers would then begin to battle back and only trailed 50-47 going into the second half. Following halftime, both teams continued to score with high efficiency, but the Drovers were able to get hot and take a 16-point lead with only 5:04 remaining in regulation. Over the final five minutes of the contest, the Stars outscored the Drovers 23-6 to claw their way to victory.In the high scoring affair, both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, and better than 30 percent from deep. The Stars closed the game shooting 38-74 (514) from the field and 15-35 (.429) from beyond the arc, while the Drovers shot 39-77 (.506) from the field, and 8-26 (.308) from three-point range. The Drovers owned a huge advantage in the rebound margin (58-27), but the Stars overcame their deficiencies in the paint by forcing Science & Arts into committing 15 turnovers, as well as knocking down timely three-pointers. Five different Drovers scored in double figures, with Gerard Makuntae (SR/Austell, GA)'s double-double leading the way. Makuntae achieved his eighth double-double of the year, tallying 22 points and 11 rebounds. Cameron Hines (SR/Ft. Cobb, OK) contributed 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Stephon Hall (SR/Oklahoma City, OK) added 18 pts, six rebounds, and four assists.Elvin Rodriguez (SR/New York, NY) and Rory Pantophlet (JR/Philipsburg, Sint Maarten) each tallied 14 points. Rodriguez added six rebounds, and Pantophlet hauled in seven boards, in addition to four blocked shots.Jaden Causwell (JR/Johns Creek, GA) scored five points off the bench, while Jaden Harrell (FR/Oklahoma City, OK) and Logan Dolan (FR/Broken Arrow, OK) each added four. Tre'veon Ellis (SR/Oklahoma City, OK) closed with two points and seven rebounds. WHAT'S NEXT?Heading into the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, the Drovers will be the No. 1 seed, after clinching their first SAC Regular Season Championship since 2000-01. Science & Arts aims to begin their SAC Tournament Championship defense as they open post season play on Thursday, February 24 at Drover Fieldhouse. Time of tip-off is still to be determined, so stay tuned into our social media channels, as well as www.usaoathletics.com. Stay up to date on all Science & Arts Athletics news by following us on our media platforms!Athletics Website: www.usaoathletics.comLive-stream: www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/YouTube: Drover AthleticsTwitter: @DroverAthleticsFacebook: @DroverAthleticsInstagram: @drover_athleticsGIPHY: www.giphy.com/USAODrovers