Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—Saturday night the Panhandle State men's basketball team improved their record to 3-2 with an exciting victory over Bethel College that ended with a last-second, three-point shot by Devonta Brooks to pull off the 82-79 win inside the Oscar Williams Field House.

What started off as a one-sided matchup in the first half, ended up as a close contest after the break. The Aggies owned a ten-point (45-35) lead at halftime, but lost the edge in the second half as the Threshers rallied back to outscore the home team 44-37 in the last twenty minutes of the game.

Panhandle held a 50 percent shooting average in the opening stanza and shot 7-13 from three-point range, led by freshman Bowen Nyberg and junior Riyadh Asad who each connected on three attempts from beyond the arc in the first half. Sophomore shooter Jace Kerr led the Aggies at the break and tied for the game-high with 14 first-half points; Kerr added eight from the line where he shot perfect at 100 percent. Bethel's Chase Banister also totaled 14 points in the first half and landed 4-8 three-pointers to lead the game.

After halftime the Aggies' averaged 41 percent from the field and a paltry 44 percent from the line, going 8-18 in free throws for the second half. Bethel went 14-17 from the line after the break which helped counter their 38 percent average from the field and 20 percent beyond the arc. The Threshers worked themselves back from a 17-point deficit towards the end of the first half to go up by five at the 6:52 mark in the second half. Bethel held a narrow lead through the three-minute mark when senior transfer Pierre Roddy came through with back-to-back shots shifting the momentum back into Aggie hands.

The fouls started flying and the Threshers added seven points on free throws in the final minutes to tie the game at 79-79 with six seconds on the clock. As the Aggies inbounded the ball after the tying free throw, Devonta Brooks drove down the court and launched a long shot near mid-court; as the buzzer sounded, the ball dropped through the net adding the final three points to the Aggies side of the board for the last-second victory.

Brooks earned his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the game. Roddy put in substantial playing time for Panhandle in the second half and added game-high numbers in scoring with 20 total points, 15 coming in the last half of the game. Kerr was held to four points after halftime, but finished with 18 points for the Aggies as the team's second-highest scorer; Kerr and Sita Sesay also combined for 13 rebounds. Malcolm Glanville contributed with five assists for a game-high followed by Roddy who had three assists.

Leading scorers for the Threshers were Austin Mitchell who had 19 points and Banister who finished with 17. Bethel's leaders at the boards were Jacob Miller and Chris Robinson; Miller totaled six rebounds and Robinson had five for the game. Robinson also led the game in steals with four.

The Aggies' head coach Jerry Olson was really pleased with how his team came back, "The guys never gave up and kept playing. I'm really happy to have Pierre (Roddy) back; he made some really big plays." While Olson was proud of the win, he felt they put themselves in a tough position by "not sharing the ball enough in the second half; we can do great things when we share." He added, "I thought Bethel out-energized us in the second half, but I was really happy with the performances of Jace (Kerr) and Devonta (Brooks). They really got us going with good shots and energy at the boards."

The Aggies will compete in their second exhibition game this week as well, with a matchup in San Marcos, Texas on Dec. 1 against Texas State; fans can follow the action with live stats and video streaming available online at opsuaggies.com, tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Aggie fans can look forward to more home-court action on Saturday, Dec. 3 when Panhandle Men's Basketball plays host to Ecclesia College at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to participate in the Aggies CAN Make a Difference Food Drive during each home game through Dec. 19. Those bringing canned food or other non-perishable food items will receive entry into a raffle for a chance to win a personalized Aggie basketball jersey and signed basketball.