Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.—In two close contests Saturday afternoon, both the Panhandle State men's and women's basketball teams took losses in their first Heartland Conference matchups of the season. Each went up against Oklahoma Christian University with the Aggie women falling 79-69, and the men dropped their conference opener to the Eagles 80-76.

The Panhandle women's team held a 20-18 lead at the end of the first period, averaging 75 percent from the field and landing three-of-three from beyond the arc. Denise Levine hit two-of-two at three-point range to share the team-high in scoring with Darby Price for the first ten minutes of play; each totaled six points for the Aggies. Oklahoma Christian caught up in the second period, tying the game at 31-31 by the first media time out. The Lady Eagles held the Aggies to a 38.5 percent shooting average in the second period and claimed a 41-35 lead going into halftime. Price and Levine were the leading scorers for the Aggies at the break with ten and eight points respectively. OC had two players with double-digit numbers after the first half; Addy Clift totaled 13 points and McKenzie Stanford had 12.

With improved shooting coming out of halftime, the Aggies kept battling through the third period outscoring the Lady Eagles 15-14 after the break. OC maintained a five-point lead (55-50) going into the fourth quarter. Price and Levine combined for 14 of the Aggies' 15 points scored in the third period and Taylor Acosta added one with a successful free throw shot. Acosta helped the Aggies even the score (63-63) with a long-distance shot at the 6:13 mark in the fourth period. The Aggies had a hard time finding the net from that point on, landing only one of their final six shots from the field. The Lady Eagles went 4-8 from the field and 7-8 at the line in the final six minutes of the game, to earn final victory by a margin of ten points (79-69).

The game-high in scoring went to Oklahoma Christian's McKenzie Stanford who put up 26 points for the Lady Eagles. Panhandle's Price and Levine tied as the game's second-highest scorers with 18 points each, and Acosta finished with 12 points; Acosta also earned the game's only double-double totaling ten assists in the game. At the boards Aggie forward Hannah Whitaker held the game-high number in rebounds with ten (all defensive boards), followed by Price with seven rebounds. Overall, Panhandle played strong defensively, out-rebounding OC 31-18 in defensive boards, but 22 Aggie turnovers led to 21 points for their opponent. Panhandle Women's Basketball now stands 1-8 on the season with one loss in the Heartland Conference.

The Aggie men also started off strong shooting 51.7 percent in the first half, and matching the Eagles at the boards 15-15 before the break. Although the Aggies got down by as much as 14 points in the first half, dropping 39-25 at the 3:56 mark, they fought to pull within six points by halftime (41-35). In the last four minutes of the half, Tevin Lytes added four points and Riyadh Asad, Sita Sesay and Jaedon Whitfield combined for six while the Eagles were held to just three points as the half ticked down.

Devonta Brooks and Jace Kerr helped Panhandle heat things up after halftime adding ten points to tie the game at 45-45 with 16:36 on the clock. A jumper in the paint by Sesay followed by a layup from Kerr edged a four-point lead for the Aggies at the 15:30 mark (49-45). The Aggies owned a narrow lead through the 6:46 mark when OC's Elijah Strickland opened up with a three to shift the score in favor of the Eagles (66-64). Kerr reclaimed the Aggie advantage after two successful free throws and a dunk. The Eagles answered with a three and a layup to gain the lead with under three minutes left to play. Panhandle's Pierre Roddy sunk a long shot to tie the score 73-73, but the fouls started flying and Oklahoma Christian won the battle going 5-6 at the line in the final minutes to pull out the win.

For the game the Aggies shot 49.2 percent from the field, but landed only 5-20 from three-point range; the Eagles averaged 46.6 percent from the field and connected on 12-30 three-point shots. Panhandle outshot Oklahoma Christian from the bench and in the paint, scoring 26 points from non-starters and 36 off inside shots. The Aggies also beat OC at the boards 35-29 in rebounds. Devonta Brooks led the game in rebounds with nine and OC's Dorian Lopez led the Eagles with seven rebounds. Leading scorers were Keilan Horton and Elijah Strickland who earned game-highs for the Eagles with 20 points each. For the Aggies, Brooks and Sesay led with 14 points each and Kerr finished with 13 points. The Aggie men sit an even 5-5 on the season and now own one conference loss.

Both Aggie teams will compete at home again on Monday, Dec. 19 in a Heartland Conference double-header against St. Edward's. The women top off at 1 p.m. and the men's game will follow at 3. Winners for the Aggies CAN Make a Difference Food Drive will be drawn at halftime of the men's game, and Monday's games are the last opportunity for fans to donate to the food drive and the Panhandle State Softball Clothing Drive.