Langston Athletics
Kyle Taylor, Sports Information Director
LANGSTON – A tightly contested matchup came down to the wire, but the No. 8 Langston Lions prevailed, 63-61, over Oklahoma City University before a packed C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The Oklahoma City Stars built a 32-25 halftime advantage and pushed their lead to 10 after Chris Williams knocked down a three-pointer to make it 37-27 over Langston with 18:13 remaining.
Langston (17-4, 9-4 SAC) countered with a 17-5 scoring run that ended with Lions retaking a 44-42 lead after Alfonzo Anderson dropped a three-pointer at the 10:49 mark in the second half. Both squads went through three more ties the rest of the way before a three-pointer by Jerami Grace gave Langston a 50-47 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
OCU cut the deficit to 60-58 with 33 second left but the Lions answered with back-to-back free throws from Malik Young and one free throw from Anderson to push them ahead for good at 63-58. Langston moves to 17-4 overall and 9-4 in the SAC and remain tied in the SAC standings in second-place with John Brown University.
David Hunt led the Lions with 11 points and eight boards in 28 minutes of work. John Arnold and Jorori Coleman tied for second on the team in points with nine apiece.
Offensively, the Lions finished at 46 percent (23-of-50) for the night and outscored the Stars 26-16 inside the paint and 30-25 in bench points. OCU shot 34 percent (18-of-52) overall, finishing just 10-of-24 from three-point range while Elijah Christman led the Stars in scoring with 16.
Langston (17-4, 9-4 SAC) travels to face Wayland Baptist on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. The Lady Lions next home matchup is set for Thursday, Feb. 7 versus the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma at 8 p.m.