The Austin College men's basketball team knocked off Schreiner University 79-66 on Friday, earning their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the year while also handing the Mountaineers their first conference loss of the season. The 'Roos are now 5-9 overall and 1-4 in SCAC play.
The 'Roos used some hot three point shooting early to jump out to a 16-6 lead, with Ransom Okpala knocking down a trey to open the game and Cody Meyers coming in off of the bench to drill a pair of threes, and the lead grew to 20-7 with 11:18 left in the opening half. The lead grew to 35-20 on an Alan Sullivan three pointer with 5:06 left before the break, and after the Mountaineers cut it to 12, Jeremy Swisher drilled a trey to push it back to a 39-24 game.
Another three from Okpala made it 42-28 with 1:16 left before the half, but Schreiner's Stevan Guerrero scored with five seconds remaining to make it a 42-30 game heading into the locker room.
Schreiner cut it to 10 early in the second half but Okpala caught fire to help push the lead to 25, scoring a layup and hitting back-to-back threes to key a 17-2 run and make it 59-34 with 13:43 left to play. The lead hovered around 20 for the next seven minutes, when Schreiner used a 9-0 run to cut it from 68-47 to 68-56, and five straight points from Hollis Robinson helped pull the Mountaineers back to within 10 at 74-64 with 1:35 left.
However, that's as close as Schreiner would get as Brian Baehl knocked down a pair of free throws and Swisher scored a tough basket in the paint with 1:03 left to make it 78-66, and the 'Roos would get a free throw from Jimmy King to finish things off.
Okpala finished with 19 points and seven rebounds to lead four 'Roos in double digits. Austin Freet recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Baehl and Meyers each scored 10 in the victory as Austin College hit 9-of-20 three pointers as a team.
AJ Myres led all scorers with 27 to lead the Mountaineers, and Guerrero added 15 points, seven boards, and three assists in the loss. Robinson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for Schreiner.
Austin College will be looking to make it two in a row in conference when they host Texas Lutheran on Sunday at 1:00 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 residential 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.