Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.—Both OPSU basketball teams suffered losses of over thirty points each at the hands of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions Thursday evening in the Oscar Williams Field House.

The UAFS Lady Lions entered the week ranked third in the Heartland Conference with an even 6-6 overall record; with the 38-point victory (97-59) over the Aggie women they now own a winning record and sit 5-1 in conference play. With the loss the Aggies drop to 2-13 on the season and are still on the hunt for their first Heartland win.

Once again turnovers were an issue for the Aggies as they racked up 15 in the first half and 18 in the second half giving UAFS a total of 42 points off lost balls. The Lions also capitalized on rebounds scoring 18 second-chance points to the Aggies' two; the Lions grabbed a whopping 48 rebounds on the game while the Aggies totaled 23 boards.

Senior Hannah Tatum was a bright spot for the Aggies contributing 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks;. Brittany Alavinejad also reached double-digits with 11 points and came away with three steals. The game-high in scoring went to Jasmine Brainard of UAFS with 21 total points and teammate Angi Ramey grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

Coach Charles Terry commented after the game, "We are a work in progress. We are still playing hard, but need to improve our shooting and our confidence. I still believe we can compete much better than we have been."

The UAFS men also took the court with an even record (7-7) and sat seventh in the Heartland with three conference wins. The Aggies fell short in their three-point game going 26 percent for the night, while the Lions were on fire from beyond the arc averaging 50 percent and earning 30 points in long-distance shots. Like the ladies, the UAFS men were also great on the boards totaling 49 rebounds to the Aggies' 29 for the game.

Despite the loss, Anotnio Manns, Jr. earned the game-high in scoring putting up 27 points for the Aggies; Manns also contributed nine rebounds and two blocks. John Lazenby landed four shots for twelve points and Austin Thrash offered four assists. For the Lions, DaVaunta Thomas led his team with 23 total points and five steals; Kenny Martin earned the game's only double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Alex Cooper contributed a game-high seven assists.

The Aggie men fall to 3-11 with one conference win. OPSU's head men's coach Jerry Olson responded to the loss saying, "UAFS man-handled us; they were really, really good." Coach Olson added, "We were out-worked on the boards; even when we block out we can't get the ball. I felt that we got selfish during the last stretch, once we got down to 30 we looked for our own shots."

The Aggies remain at home this weekend as they continue conference play against Rogers State Saturday, Jan. 18; the women tip-off at 1 p.m. and the men will follow at 3 p.m. The Aggies will play again Monday evening to make-up games against Lubbock Christian from earlier this month; games begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday night.