Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—An exciting home-court premier for the Panhandle State men's basketball team gave Aggie fans plenty to cheer about Tuesday evening inside the Oscar Williams Field House. The Aggies put up big numbers against Barclay College earning a 25- point victory (100-75) in a game that saw six Panhandle players earn double-digit numbers.

Junior forward Devonta Brooks scored a team-high 21 points and totaled eight rebounds and three steals in Tuesday's home-opener for the Aggies; Brooks tied for the game-high in scoring with Barclay's Jay Bradley who also finished with 21 points and led his team in rebounds with nine.

Other leading contributors for the Aggies were juniors Jake Regier and Riyadh Asad who combined for 36 points. Regier added 17 points to the board with five threes and a layup, while Asad totaled 19 on four three-pointers, three inside shots and a free throw. The transfer from Miles Community College also held a game-high in assists with nine, giving his coach something to brag about, "Riyadh (Asad) is really good at setting people up." The Aggies' head coach Jerry Olson went on to say that he was pleased with how well the team shared the ball on offense; the team totaled 25 assists for the game.

Freshmen Jace Kerr and Malcolm Glanville both hit double-digits as well with Kerr leading in bench performance with 16 total points. Kerr shot 100 percent for the night going 7-7 from the line and 4-4 from the field with one long-range shot from beyond the arc. Glanville totaled 11 points with two threes.

The Bears lagged at halftime by a score of 59-38, but gave the Aggies a run for their money in the second half outscoring Panhandle 26-16 in the paint, and earning 13 points off turnovers and 17 in second-chance points after the break. In the first twenty minutes of play, it was the Aggies who dominated inside earning 20 points in the paint to Barclay's six. The Aggies also won the turnover battle in the first half taking 12 points off ten Barclay turnovers; Panhandle went on to commit 14 turnovers in the second half. Coach Olson felt that the shift after halftime could be attributed to lack of focus, "I thought we got bored and started playing sloppy in the second half."

Defensively the Aggies owned the boards with 31 defensive rebounds in the game. Senior Sita Sesay had a big night with 12 total rebounds (ten defensive) and three blocks to lead the game in both categories. The Aggies brought seven blocks against the Bears who were only credited with one. Barclay managed to gain more takeaways in the game with 15 steals to the Aggies' seven.

For the night Panhandle averaged 56.7 percent in shooting and 51.7 percent beyond the arc with 15 successful three-point shots; behind the line the Aggies averaged 73.9 percent. The Bears led the game in free throws averaging 76.2 percent, but struggled from long distance landing only 7-26 shots from three-point range. Barclay shot 35.6 percent for the game. The Aggies own a 2-1 overall record thus far, and Barclay falls to 1-6 on the season.

Olson was pleased with the victory, but hesitant to celebrate saying, "It's a win, but I think we took some steps backwards from last Saturday's performance, especially on defense." He elaborated, "Our focus on defense has got to be much better for what we are trying to get done." Olson also offered respect for his opponent, commending the Bears' efforts, "I've got to give it to them, they keep playing hard and I really like what Coach Bryan has done with that program."

Not long after Tuesday night's final buzzer went off, the Aggies were on a bus headed for their next contest in Lafayette, La. Panhandle will play in an exhibition game against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The Division I matchup can be followed online via live stats and video links. The Aggies then travel to Canyon, Texas for a D-II game against LSC opponent West Texas A&M on Nov. 22 before returning to the Oscar Williams Field House on Saturday, Nov. 22 to play Bethel College at 7 p.m. Coach Olson was pleased with Tuesday night's crowd and hopes that Aggie Nation will come in full force to support his team all season long.