WAXAHACHIE, Texas - in their second-ranked matchup of the season the Oklahoma Panhandle State men's basketball team looked to play giant slayer once again against the  #12 ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God Lions after having somewhat of a break since their last contest against the John Brown University Golden Eagles. The Lions boast the number one offense in the Sooner Athletic Conference as well as stand up top the SAC men's basketball standings. The Aggies come into the match leading the conference in steals and having the #6 ranked offense in the SAC. 

Head Coach Mark Laird would comment, "coming off 10 days without practice, we knew it was gonna be tough to go to SAGU and be able to pull it out. They are a very talented and well coached team. We did some good things but just didn't have the preparation necessary to be able to pull off an upset of this magnitude. We will put it behind us and get ready for another conference road game on Saturday."

The Aggies came into the first half looking to play on their strengths of ball movement and finding the open man. However, the fast-paced nature of the Lions complicated the initial game plan for the Aggies. The Lions would take an early 8-4 lead despite the excessive amounts of turnovers. The Aggies looked to capitalize off the Lions' turnovers throughout the game. Leaning on the team's leading scorers in Rayquan Elliott and Jalen Thomas. Thomas whose mid-range jumper was nearly automatic in the game. With the size and speed advantage of the Lions, the Aggies had to rely on a physical play style down low to find the basket. The Lions took a twelve-point lead into the half. A half highlighted by Jalen Thomas and Jonathan Frazier. 

After a half where the Aggies looked to be outpaced by the Lions, the Aggies needed to find a rhythm offensively to match that of the Lions. Thomas got hot early with two back-to-back jumpers for the Aggies, trying to ignite the rest of the Aggie offense. Which seemed to work as the Aggies would shoot 52% from the field in the half. However, what limited the Aggies offensively was the number of turnovers and their inefficiency from beyond the arc. With a final score of 86-68, the Aggies fell to 7-8 on the season. 

The continuing bright spot for the Aggies this season has been newcomer Rayquan Elliott and returner Jalen Thomas. Both extended their double-digit scoring streak against the Lions. Elliott extended his streak to nine straight games and Thomas to five games. Even getting some help from their bench in Justin Pile, finishing with nine points, and Jonathan Frazier, who finished with seven points and a perfect field goal percentage.Despite a sloppy first half, the Aggies matched up nicely with their second-ranked opponent of the season. Something they look to expand on as they head down the road to Dallas, Texas to take on the University of North Texas at Dallas Trailblazers Saturday, January 15th at 3:45 PM.