'Roos Roll Past Ozarks

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team raced out to a 30 point halftime lead and cruised from there, topping the University of the Ozarks 105-81 on Tuesday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 1-2 on the year.

Jackson Rennie caught fire early, scoring 22 first half points, and ended with 31 points while knocking down 7-of-13 attempts from long distance to pace Austin College as five 'Roos reached double figures in the scoring column. Austin College shot 52.3% from the field and hit 8-of-17 threes in the first half as they  built a 58-28 lead at the break, thanks in large part to a 21-0 run midway through the half. After Austin College found themselves down 15-13 with 12:58 on the clock, the 'Roos scored 21 unanswered over the next four minutes to surge ahead 34-15 and never looked back.

Ozarks got a triple from Kyron Powell to make it 45-28 with 3:09 left in the half, but the 'Roos would score the final 13 points of the opening frame to take a commanding lead heading into the locker room. Ozarks was able to get the lead down to 83-67 with 7:23 left to play, but Austin College responded with a 9-3 run to push the margin back over 20 points and they would cruise from there.

Austin College was dominant on the glass, out-rebounding Ozarks 49-31, with 21 of those boards coming on the offensive glass. The 'Roos converted those second chances into 25 points, compared to just seven second chance points for the Eagles. Rennie finished the game 10-of-17 from the field overall, and added five rebounds. Roman Strickland added 20 points and eight boards, while Chase Antosca came off the bench to score 19. Jason Jones posted a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, and Tristan Dick added 13 points in the victory. Grayson Nix led Ozarks with 23 points, and Powell finished with 17.