The Austin College men's basketball team put five players in double figures and owned a 38-to-25 rebound advantage on their way to a 72-46 season opening victory over Millaps College in the Bob Mason Classic on Friday night.
After falling behind 8-5 early on following a Taylor Meades three pointer, Austin College raced out to an 18-12 lead with Ransom Okpala scoring six points over that stretch. Okpala scored nine of the first 18 points for the 'Roos. Millsaps cut the margin to 19-18 with 6:42 left in the first half, the 'Roos would close the half on a 14-5 run fueled by six more points from Okpala, who finished with 18 for the game.
Sterling Thomas scored twice to cut it to an eight point margin early in the second half, but six straight points from Alen Michael made it a 41-27 game, and a three pointer from Aaron Anwary extended the Austin College lead to 44-27 with 15:53 left in the game. The margin grew to 50-32 on a basket by Antoine Thompson with 13:17 remaining, and after Millsaps trimmed the lead to 12 the 'Roos got back to back triples from Kevin Graham and Colton Castle to push it back to a 56-38 game with 10:20 remaining.
The lead extended to 64-44 on a basket by Walter Phillips with 5:43 left, and two buckets by Thompson, a layup by Graham and a jumper by Jacob Huston pushed it to a 72-46 final.
Okpala finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead the 'Roos and Thompson finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Michael finished with 12 points, seven boards, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, and Graham and Phillips each had 10 points in the game.
Brandon Allison led the Majors with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Meades finished with eight points coming off the bench as Millsaps shot 39.6% from the field and connected on just 5-of-21 attempts from long range.
Austin College is back in action tomorrow with a game against East Texas Baptist at 4:00 p.m.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
About Austin College
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.