GOODWELL, Okla. - The Panhandle State Aggies men's basketball team completed the sweep of the Oklahoma City Stars with a final score of 102-104 in overtime. A wild game that came down to the wire. An Oklahoma City team that comes into Anchor D Arena with somewhat of a height advantage on the Aggies, yet that did not stop the Aggies from outrebounding the stars to the very end.
While significant production came from the Aggies' two top scorers in
Rayquan Elliott and
Jalen Thomas they can't take all the credit.
Auston Chatman would go for a season-high with 17 points and finish with his first double-double of the season by bringing down an additional ten boards.
Reyes Ludi-Herrera was also instrumental in the win as he began to see the starting rotation. Going 2 for 3 from beyond the arc in crucial moments for the Aggies as the Stars made a late push for the lead towards the end.
Head Coach
Mark Laird has seen the high ceiling of this Aggie team, and this victory was just the beginning.
"I'm very proud of how we stayed connected tonight. We knew that we hadn't come close to playing our best basketball yet. Everyone contributed tonight. The guys stepped up and made the big plays. We BELIEVED in each other. OCU is very talented and very well-coached. We had to play our best to beat them, and we did. This is another HUGE week for us as we go on our last regular-season road trip. USAO and Texas Wesleyan are excellent teams. It will retake our best."
The Aggies lit up the scoreboard against the Stars. Three would see double figures. Chatman went for eighteen, Thomas for twenty-eight, and Elliott for thirty-two. Elliott, Thomas, Chatman, Pile, and Ludi-Herrera played more than twenty minutes in the contest. They played most of the final minutes of the second half and the entire five-minute overtime period.
The Aggies (10-13, 7-11 SAC) would sweep the Stars on the year. However, their previous contest was due to COVID-19 cancellation and a forfeit for the OCU Stars.
In the first half that saw lights-out shooting from Elliott and Thomas, the Aggies looked sure to win their previously postponed game against the OCU Stars. However, the Stars would force the Aggies to face their struggles at the free-throw line early in the game. Despite the Stars' challenge on the Aggies, they would counter with efficient ball movement to find the open man. They were finishing the game with twenty assists. The height of the Stars was not their only advantage. Their ability to create open space and knock down contested threes also made them a threat to pull away with the lead. The Stars would score 24 points off three-pointers alone in the first half. The Aggies still took a four-point lead into the half by outrebounding the Stars and answering back with some three-pointers of their own.
In the second half, the Stars were determined to stick with their previous game plan; driving into the paint, drawing fouls, or forcing space and knocking down a three. It was a project that seemed to work well as they would tie it at the buzzer on a half-court shot from Rashaun Coleman, forcing overtime. A half that saw free throws made the most significant difference. The Stars went 12 for 13 at the line, and the Aggies went 5 for 8. In a half that saw nine of ten Aggies with minutes in half find the bottom of the bucket, they would still have to prove they could perform in crunch time.
As the Aggies and Stars headed into overtime, it became crucial for the Aggies to limit the three-point opportunities of the stars. A team that would shoot 50% from beyond the arc on the day. Ludi-Herrera, Elliott, and Thomas were ready to call no matter the circumstances. They knocked down crucial shots and free throws as the Aggies won 102 to 104.
The Aggies finished the contest by shooting a season-high 62 percent from the field and making thirteen three-pointers. A resounding win as the postseason is right around the corner.
Men's basketball hits the road for a two-game road trip starting Thursday, February 10th in Chickasha, Oklahoma, as the Aggies take on the USAO Drovers.
