Men's Hoops Takes Down Ozarks on Senior Day

SHERMAN, Texas - Jamien June poured in a career-high 35 points and Jackson Rennie capped his Senior Day off with a pair of free throws to ice the win as the Austin College men's basketball team finished the season strong with an 86-80 win over the University of the Ozarks on Sunday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos end the year with an overall record of 9-16 and a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference mark of 4-12.

It was a back-and-forth game throughout, as Austin College raced out to a big early lead at 24-9 following a triple from Rennie with 11:43 left in the first half before Ozarks fought back and cut it to 28-24 four minutes later. After the 'Roos took as 32-26 lead on a bucket by June with 6:01 left before halftime, Ozarks responded with a 12-0 run to surge into the lead at 38-32 at the 2:42 mark. The Eagles led 40-34, but Austin College scored eight straight and a three from Rennie made it 42-40 before Dylan Archey answered with a triple of his own to send the Eagles into halftime leading 43-42. The game continued to seesaw into the second half, with Austin College and the Eagles trading baskets until Ozarks went on top 59-53 on a bucket by James Mathews with 12:34 left to play.

Aidan Schnurr and June each knocked down triples to even the score, and another trey from June pushed Austin College into a 62-59 lead with 9:15 left to go. A three-point-play from Jordan Hudgins capped off a 12-0 run for Austin College, making it 65-59 at the 7:54 mark. Ozarks came back to even things up, and the score was knotted at 71 with 4:15 remaining until June buried another three to make it 74-71. The Eagles would not go away down the stretch, however, tying things up once again at 78 apiece with 1:40 on the clock,, but two free throws by June put Austin College ahead for good at 80-78 with 1:08 left. June, Kidus Getenet, and Rennie combined to go 6-for-6 from the stripe down the stretch to seal the win, with Rennie's two free throws with six seconds on the clock sealing the win and keeping him perfect from the line on the year, wrapping up the season with a SCAC-record 100% free throw percentage on 48 attempts.

June made 10-of-15 shots, including 5-of-8 from distance, to get his 35 points while adding four rebounds and three assists. Rennie finished with 17 points in his final appearance in a 'Roo uniform, and Getenet added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Hudgins chipped in eight points, four assists, and three rebounds off the bench. Justice Marmara led Ozarks with 16 points and Cedrick Dodd added 12 points and 10 boards.