Oakland City, IN - The Oakland City University men's basketball team hosted the Red Storm of the University of Rio Grande, having lost seven of their last eight contests. Despite an early lead, OCU had to battle back to find themselves trailing 34-31 at the halftime horn. The second half saw little change on the offensive end for the Oaks, but they were unable to hold down the visiting Red Storm, losing 76-61.
DJ Redding led all scorers in the game, posting 19 points for the Oaks, making 9-11 from the field.
Abdul Wurie contributed 12 points on 4-7 shooting, while making 4-6 from the charity stripe.
Tyquez Priester came up with 10 counters, while
Allen Sims hauled in a game high 10 rebounds in the loss.
Miki Tadic and Kaden Warner each tallied 15 points for Rio Grande, making a combined 12-26 shots. Trent Hundley added a dozen counters, followed by Shiloah Blevins, who managed 11 points. Khamani Smith and Mike Cody each came off the bench to score nine, while Tadic and Hudley each nabbed a team high eight rebounds.
As a team, the Oaks trailed 37-32 on the glass, including a 10-8 deficit on the offensive end. OCU trailed 9-8 in assists, 5-4 in steals, and 12-10 in turnovers, while each team blocked eight shots in the game.
Overall, OCU connected on 23-55 (41.8%) from the field, making just 1-6 (16.7%) from three point range. Rio Grande scored on 25-56 (44.6%) of their shot attempts, going 7-21 (33.3%) from long range. The Oaks made 14-21 (66.7%) from the foul line compared to 19-25 (76.0%) for the visitors.
The Mighty Oaks will be back in action on Hall of Fame Day/Homecoming, hosting the Bearcats of Brescia University on Saturday, January 28, with tippoff shceduled for approximately 3:30 pm.
