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[Men's Basketball] #11 USAO Advances to SAC Championship with Win Over JBU

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Saturday evening, the No. 11 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (16-2, 9-2 SAC) extended their win-streak to seven games, and advanced to the SAC Tournament Championship Game with an 88-83, come-from-behind victory against John Brown University (8-7, 6-6 SAC).The Drovers and Golden Eagles also met in the 2020 SAC Tournament Semi-Final, with JBU coming away with the 78-67 victory, but on Saturday night, USAO was able to return the pain.The 2021 Semi-Final match-up was an exciting one! Both teams held big leads in the contest, and both teams made big rallies.The Drovers led by as many as 13 points with 7:04 remaining in the first half, but JBU quickly stormed back and controlled a 43-36 lead at halftime.Following the break, John Brown continued to extend their lead, pushing the advantage to 14 points with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. The Drovers would begin to claw their way back into the game and reclaimed the 61-60 lead with 8:49 to go. Neither team led by more than five points for the rest of the intense contest, but the Drovers were able to outlast and out-TOUGH the Golden Eagles, surviving and advancing to the conference's championship game.The Drovers were incredibly efficient on offense as a team, and they recommitted to playing tough defense in the second half of the game. USAO closed the game shooting just 5-of-22 (.227) from 3-point range, but they made up for it by shooting 38-of-51 (.549) from the field, overall. The Drovers were superb at the charity stripe, knocking down 27-of-32 (.844) free-throw attempts, which was a category they massively struggled in, just one night prior against Southwestern Christian. All five Drover starters closed the game with at least 10 points in the win. Cameron Hines (SR/Ft. Cobb, OK) led USAO in scoring with 30 points, to go along with seven rebounds, and a pair of assists. Hines was a perfect 9-of-9 at the free-throw line Saturday night.Tre'veon Ellis (JR/Oklahoma City, OK) continued his impressive post-season play, scoring 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Elvin Rodriguez (SR/New York, NY) contributed 12 points, while Gerard Makuntae (JR/Austell, GA) tallied 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Stephon Hall (JR/Oklahoma City, OK) played more of a facilitator roll against JBU, dishing out a game-high of seven assists. Additionally, Hall provided 10 points, two blocks, and two steals.Boubacar Diakite (JR/Mali) made some key plays in the win, and he concluded with six points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Trenton Sandifer (SR/Dallas, TX) scored two points and pulled down four rebounds.The Drovers will try for their eighth consecutive win on Tuesday, March 2, when the Drovers host Mid-America Christian University for the 2021 SAC Tournament Championship Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT, inside USAO Fieldhouse. The conference championship would be USAO's first since the 2017 season.   Stay up to date on all USAO Athletics news by following us on our media platforms!Athletics Website: www.usaoathletics.comLive-stream: www.portal.stretchinternet.com/usao/YouTube: USAO AthleticsTwitter: @DroverAthleticsFacebook: @USAODroversInstagram: @usao_drover_athletics