Oakland City, IN - The Oakland City University men's basketball team hosted the Trailblazers of Ohio Christian University in the battle of the OCUs. After taking a 39-30 lead into the halftime locker room, the Mighty Oaks saw their shooting percentage fall as fast as their lead, losing by the eventual score of 76-68.
DJ Redding led the way for the Oaks, scoring 19 points on 8-12 shooting, while handing out a game high five assists.
Tyquez Priester added 13 counters off the bench, while
Abdul Wurie contributed 11 counters and a team-best eight rebounds, blocking two shots in the loss.
Jimmy Salamone scored a game-high 21 points, making 5-14 from the field and 9-11 from the charity stripe. Titus Burns added 14 counters, while Devon Miller hauled in 12 rebounds, falling one point shy of a double-double.
As a team, OCU made 27-63 (42.9%) from the field, including 3-10 (30.0%) from three point range, compared to a 26-62 (41.9%) shooting effort from the Trailblazers, who connected on 4-16 (25.0%) from beyond the arc. The Oaks scored on 11-15 (73.3%) from the foul line compared to 20-26 (76.9%) for the visitors.
Oakland City University held a 41-38 rebounding edge, with both teams nabbing nine boards on the offensive glass. Assists were 14-11 in favor of the Oaks, but the turnovers were 12-17 in favor of the Trailblazers, giving Ohio Christian a 9-5 lead in steals.
The Mighty Oaks will be back in action on Saturday, January 19, in a double header against the University of Rio Grande in another River States Conference matchup. The women's game is scheduled to tip off at 11:00 am in the Johnson Center with the men's game to follow.
