NAIA

[Men's Basketball] THE NO. 11 DROVERS ADVANCE TO SAC SEMIFINALS IN STUNNING FASHION

CHICKASHA, Okla. – The No. 11 University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (15-2, 9-2) survived a brutal opening round to the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament at home Friday night.  The Drovers clinched a 96-95 win over Southwestern Christian University (8-6, 6-6) to advance to the SAC qsemi-final.The USAO Fieldhouse was opened to family and students at a 20% limited capacity for the first time this year. Finally in front of their friends and family, the Drovers put together an intense performance, and though Head coach Chris Francis was missed, his tactics were still evident in his players and coaching staff.USAO got off to a slow start behind the firing SCU starters. The Eagles held a nine-point lead after five minutes of play. The deficit was enough to ignite sharpshooter Stephon Hall (JR/Oklahoma City, OK) who evened the score with four consecutive buckets from deep. The teams continued to trade command over the final ten minutes for five more locked scores to make it 54-all at the intermission.Still with an undecided leader after 20 minutes of play, the fieldhouse was energized. One team's season would be paused, if not ended, within the next twenty minutes of play. The Drovers were able to pull ahead by small margins throughout the final half, but lackluster free-throw shooting allowed SCU to remain in the game even through the final seconds.Luckily, Francis' Drovers are no strangers to scoring under pressure. With twelve seconds of play remaining, Tre'veon Ellis (JR/Oklahoma City, OK) powered through a set of defenders to lay-in the final bucket of the game for the 96-95 win.Hall led the Drovers in scoring with 28 points off an astounding 7-of-10 from the three-point line. Close behind was Elvin Rodriguez (SR/New York, NY) with 24 points paired with 7 rebounds. Ellis had his breakout performance of the season with 18 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 6 rebounds. Boubacar Diakite (JR/Mali) led the boards for USAO with 8 rebounds, while also contributing 7 points, four assists, and two blocks. Unusually quiet, Cameron Hines (SR/Ft. Cobb, OK) finished the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.SCU's Charles Dickson led all-scorers with a massive double-double of 34 points and 15 rebounds. York Benjamin also executed a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Khristien White kept the offense going with his 19 points and 4 assists, while Jordan Williams facilitated with 11 assists to go with his 9 points.Both teams attempted the same amount of field goals. While SCU connected on 36 of their 83 shots, the Drovers only finished on 33 of theirs. USAO shot better from deep finishing at 42.9 percent compared to the Eagles' 33.3 percent. What could have been the downfall for the Drovers was the startling difference in percentages at the charity stripe. USAO struggled for a 54.5 percent, while SCU ended more successfully hitting 12-of-17 at the free-throw line.With the exciting win, the No. 2 seeded Drovers advance to host No. 6 seed John Brown University Saturday, Feb. 27, for a 6 PM tip-off in the SAC semifinals.