Oakland City, IN - Oakland City University's men's basketball coach
Lee Moore coached his first game in the Johnson Center at the helm of the Mighty Oaks, as OCU, with their record of 0-3, hosted the 5-1 Flames of Welch College, out of Nashville, Tennessee.
After building a 13 point lead midway through the first half, the Oaks entered the halftime locker room holding on to a 42-41 edge at the break. OCU again built a double-digit lead in the second half, pushing ahead by 15 points with 13 minutes to play, but another surge by the Flames forced the Oaks to battle to the end. At the final horn, the Mighty Oaks prevailed 96-89, improving to 1-3 on the season, while the Flames drop to 5-2.
Tyler Toopes led the way for OCU, scoring 26 points, on 10-13 shooting, including 4-5 from three point range.
Nathaniel Schmittler came up with a double-double, posting 16 points while hauling in a team best 12 missed shots.
Jacob Sanford added 13 counters, followed by 11 from
Kase Robinson, including three triples in the second period, while
DJ Redding came off the bench to post 10. Toopes and Schmittler each had five assists to lead the team, as well as three blocked shot apiece.
Nahjee Rumph was the game's leading scoring, pacing the Flames with 35 points, while Jacqun Brown tallied a double-double with 15 points and 14 boards. Spencer Smith also reached double digits, scoring 14 points while handing out five assists and nabbing three steals, both team bests.
As a team, OCU shot 36-69 (52.2%) from the field, including 11-24 (45.8%) from three point range. Welch connected on 31-63 (49.2%) of their shots, going 4-18 (22.2%) from distance. The Oaks made 13-22 (59.1%) from the foul line, compared to 23-29 (79.3%) for the visitors.
The Mighty Oaks trailed in rebounds 38-37, despite leading 12-11 on the offensive glass. OCU handed out 20 assists, compared to 11 for the Flames, while edging out Welch in the turnover column 19-16.
Oakland City University will be back in action on Wednesday, November 20, when they head back on the road to Owensboro, Kentucky, to take on the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College. Game time is slated for 7:00 pm.
