Oakland City, IN - Looking to even their record in River States Conference play, the Mighty Oaks hosted the Pioneers of Point Park University, owners of an 8-5 record, including a 3-3 conference mark. After holding the Pioneers in check throughout the first period, OCU held a 32-22 advantage at the halftime break. PPU fought back, erasing a lead that had grown to as many as 22 points, to force overtime, but the Oaks were able to make key plays in the extra period, winning the by the final score of 79-72.
Allen Sims was the leading scorer for Oakland City, notching 18 points, on 5-10 shooting, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. JaMarcus Clark came off the bench to put up 12 counters, while
DJ Redding added 11. Sims and Redding each grabbed a game high nine rebounds, while
Abdul Wurie came up with six blocked shots in the win.
Nate Van led the Pioneers, coming off the bench to pour in a game high 19 counters, on 6-17 shooting, followed by 14 points apiece from Sherron Schifino and Eddie Flohr. Jordan Stowe rounded out the double figure scorers, authoring 11 points in the loss. Flohr and Stowe each grabbed a team best eight rebounds, while Flohr handed out a game high four assists.
As a team, the Oaks made 26-61 (42.6%) of their shot attempts, including 7-20 (35.0%) from three point range. The Pioneers connected on 27-76 (35.5%) of their field goal tries, going 9-31 (29.0%) from beyond the arc. OCU made 20-30 (66.7%) from the foul line, compared to 9-19 (47.4%) for Point Park University.
The Mighty Oaks held a 50-46 rebounding advantage, despite trailing 17-11 on the offensive boards. OCU handed out eight attists, four less than their opponents, while turning the ball over 16 times, three more than PPU.
Oakland City University men's basketball will be back in action on January 13, when they travel to Beckley, West Virginia, to take on RSC foe West Virginia University of Technology. Tip time is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
