BETHANY, Okla. - The Oklahoma Panhandle State men's basketball team pulled off the upset against the Southwestern Christian University Eagles with a final score of 92-90. The Aggies saw some sort of production from everyone that entered the game either as a rebounder, facilitator, or sneaky scorer. Eight of the ten Aggies that got minutes against the Eagles would score. An all-around great effort from the Aggies who played much more complimentary basketball than some of their previous games.
The Aggies would capitalize on a "much-needed win" says Head Coach
Mark Laird. Also stating "We really needed to bounce back from the bad loss on Tuesday night. We emphasized toughness and rebounding in preparation for this game. SCU is a very talented and well-coached team. We found a way on the road. I'm so proud of the character we showed tonight."
Despite what the Aggie record might say two Aggies have been red hot when on the floor.
Rayquan Elliott and
Jalen Thomas average 29.5 points per game just between the two of them. Funneling the ball through them was a key motive for the Aggies against the Eagles. Thomas would finish with thirty-two points, six rebounds, and five assists. Elliot with twenty-nine points, two assists, and a single rebound.
The Aggies (7-10, 4-8 SAC) came into this game matching up against the Eagles (9-5, 7-4 SAC) who play a very similar type of game as the Aggies. Aggressive defensively while also constantly pushing the floor to get to the bucket. Both teams would make use of the full-court press early in the game. Despite the Eagles' use of double-teams on Elliott and Thomas, they were still able to make the difficult shots as well as pass out for open threes.
Auston Chatman and
Antanas Tamulis would capitalize on those three-point opportunities. After a shaky start to the half after being down sixteen the Aggies would rally back to go up 54 to 50 as the half came to a close. The most points scored by the Aggies in a half since October 10th against Randall University.
By maintaining a similar game plan the Aggies were able to continuously outpace the Eagles in the second half. A key contributor was them following their shots and outrebounding the Eagles. The Aggies out-rebounded the Eagles 32 to 22 in the game and totaled 25-second chance points. The Aggies had an answer for everything the Eagles would throw at them whether they were in a man defense or zone. Despite the early success of the Aggies the Eagles would begin to claw back into the game due to foul trouble from the Aggies. However, the Aggies would not be deterred from being physical down low. As the score would wind down Chatman would grab the offensive rebound and put it back up to put the Aggies up 92-90 and inevitably win the game.
A substantial win against the number four team in the SAC for the Aggies as their season has had its ups and downs. The Aggies finished shooting their third-best shooting percentage of the season (53%). Looking to take this success and momentum into this Saturday's game against Mid-America Christian University at 3:45 PM.
