Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Silver City, N.M.—The Aggies opened play on the road this weekend with a doubleheader matchup against Western New Mexico where they split the series with a game two victory over the Mustangs.

After taking a ten-point loss (83-73) in Friday's first performance, Panhandle pulled together in game two on Saturday to earn their first win of the 2016-2017 season by a score of 86-77. With a slew of new talent on the team, the Aggies' bench saw several prime contributors step up from the start. Freshman Jace Kerr held the team-high in scoring for game one with 22 points and junior transfers Riyadh Asad and Devonta Brooks combined for 23 points, putting up 12 and 11 points respectively. Kerr and Brooks were also the team's leading rebounders in game one with Kerr taking nine boards and Brooks eight; freshman forward Jaden Whitfield brought down seven rebounds in his first game as an Aggie.

In Friday's season-opener the Aggies went into halftime with a one-point advantage over the Mustangs (47-46) with Kerr owning 22 of Panhandle's points at the break. The freshman went 10-for-10 at the line and shot 6-of-9 from the field. Western came back in the second half to outscore the Aggies from the bench 12-3 and took ten points off turnovers. The Aggies consistency at the line dropped from 84 percent to 33 percent after the half and WNMU increased in all areas shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 33 percent beyond the arc and 75 percent at the line. For the game the Mustang's leading scorer was Jordan Enriquez with 25 points; Emery Range earned the game's only double-double with a total of 12 rebounds and ten points for Western.

Saturday's second meeting between the two teams had the Aggies playing catchup after halftime when they went into the locker room down by four (42-38). They tied things up early in the second half (47-47) and then controlled the tempo for the remainder of the game, allowing the Mustangs only one score-tie at the 12:19 mark (57-57). Panhandle went on to outscore WNMU 48-35 in the second half, shooting 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range. Freshman Malcolm Glanville broke out with a big game on Saturday putting up a game-high of 30 points for the Aggies; he scored 21 points after the break missing only one shot from the field and sinking 8-of-11 free throws.

The Aggies saw strong efforts out of returners Jake Regier and Sita Sesay on Saturday as Regier was the team's second-highest scorer with 17 points and Sesay led the team in rebounds with ten. Brooks had another good game scoring 16 points and taking seven rebounds. Panhandle finished shooting 44 percent for the game and landing 14-of-34 three pointers. While the Aggies earned 34 points in the paint in Friday's matchup, they were outscored by the Mustangs 40-18 in the paint on Saturday, and area that Head Coach Jerry Olson will be focusing on this season with a young team.

Olson was very pleased with his team's effort and poise down the stretch in the second half of Saturday's victory, but was disappointed in their first half free throw shooting. The head coach commented after the game, "Defensively we played much better in the second half and we used the adversity. It's always good to get a win on the road though."

With two games under their belts, Olson is getting a feel for what the newcomers can bring to the table. "We expect big things from Malcolm (Glanville) and feel he has the potential to grow into an all-time leading scorer for the school by his senior year." Glanville got off to a great start with his game-high of 30 points on Saturday and is currently ranked in the top ten in the Heartland Conference for scoring. Olson also sees Devonta Brooks as a defensive threat and expects him to be "a force on the boards." Junior transfer Riyadh Asad is another very good shooter that Olson feels will help bring experience to the team; Asad totaled 17 points over the weekend and was perfect at the line. Jace Kerr finished with 16 points in his first two contests for the Aggies; the UCO transfer has "unlimited range" and "depth inside-out" according to Olson. Others to look for on the court this season are freshmen Jaedon Whitfield and Bowan Nyberg who have both been playing well in the pre-season. Returners Jake Regier and Sita Sesay will bring leadership along with senior transfer Pierre Roddy who is "a knock-down shooter" expected to lift the offense.

Aggie fans will get to see the men in home-court action this week as Panhandle hosts Barclay College this Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Admission will be free for this first matchup in the Oscar Williams Field House and the game is sponsored by Guymon Vision Clinic. The Aggies "CAN" Make a Difference Food Drive will also kick off with Tuesday's home-opener and fans who bring non-perishable food items to the game will be entered in a drawing to win a personalized Aggie Basketball jersey and signed basketball; the drawing will take place during the last home game before the holiday break on Dec. 19.