CHICKASHA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State men's basketball team (3-10, 1-7 SAC) drained 10 first-half treys en route to a 79-66 road win Thursday night at Science & Arts Oklahoma (5-9, 1-7).
The win marked the second straight for the Aggies. It's also their first victory as part of Sooner Athletic play and their first on the road this season.
Christian Campbell and company stayed hot from downtown in the early going, as crisp ball movement helped open up a 25-12 lead for the visitors in the first nine-plus minutes. 18 of those initial points came via three-pointers, with
Ederick Coleman Jr., Campbell,
Aaron Williams Jr. and
Ja'Vian Baker all joining the party.
OPSU continued to play with good pace and spacing throughout the first half, jumping in front 48-31 heading into the intermission. By that point, Campbell had already scored 17, and the Aggies had turned the ball over just twice.
The Drovers' increased defensive activity gave Panhandle State fits to open the second half, as they chipped away to make it a 50-44 ballgame with 14 minutes still to play. A triple from Campbell stemmed the tide, while the Aggies started getting stops of their own.
Moments later, OPSU scored on three consecutive possessions featuring a layup from
Kensington Grant-Brown and a five-point flurry from
Mike Carter. The seven-point burst increased the Aggies' lead to 67-50 with under seven minutes to play, giving the road team enough of a cushion to close out the contest.
Campbell had 26 points and four assists to lead Panhandle State in both categories. He was joined in double figures by Carter, Baker and Coleman. Carter's season-high 15 points came on just eight field goal attempts, and he added seven rebounds.
Mykel Lindsey recorded nine rebounds and a block, while Grant-Brown also had a well-rounded night of five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Coach Charles Belt's Thoughts: "I am so grateful and blessed to have the young men we have on this team. The trust they have in each other, the belief they have in what we are teaching them in such a short time is amazing. We won't live in the 'what if.' We are competing, defending and playing together with great balance!"
What's up next: Panhandle State looks to make it three straight wins when it plays at Mid-America Christian (11-3, 5-3) on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff.