Photo by Kami Wood

Langston, Okla. – The Central Christian College men's basketball team returned to Sooner Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, going on the road to battle Langston University.

The Lions, currently sitting atop the SAC standings after going 1-28 last season, have been blowing teams out as of late. The Tigers, coming off of a big SAC win over MACU in their last conference match-up, were looking to build off of that performance.

The Tigers hung tough with the Lions for the first 20 minutes, trailing the home side by just 10, 39-29. The Tigers trimmed that lead to single digits in the opening minute of the second half, but an 11-0 run by the Lions quickly derailed any early momentum the Tigers gained.
In the end, the Lions outscored the Tigers 48 to 21 in the second half to win by a final score of 87-50.

Key Statistic

Turnovers were a key part of the Tigers' demise. They coughed the ball up 22 times which lead to 28 points for the Lions.

By the Numbers

Offensively the Tigers shot 42% from the floor, making 17 of 40 attempts.

From behind the three point arc, the Tigers went 4 for 16 (25%).

At the charity stripe, they made 12 of 21 (57%).

In addition to losing the turnover battle, the Tigers were also outrebounded by the Lions 36 to 23.

Tiger Leaders

Points: Isaiah Rivera, Jamir Spivey (11)

Rebounds: Andre Shelby (7)             

Assists: Isaiah Rivera, Joc Lyons (2)

Steals: 3 Tigers (1)

Blocks: Andre Shelby (1)                                                                 

Coach Quote
 
"A tale of two halves, which has been somewhat of a theme this season at times.  I thought we did a decent job in the first half on both ends of the floor, the one thing we needed to do better was contest the three point line in half one.  The second half, we just didn't compete or fight hard enough together to give ourselves chances.  Langston is a very good team and the margin of error in this league is so small, we cannot afford to beat ourselves and I thought last night we did a lot of beating ourselves mentally and physically. " – Coach Tony Romero

Next Up
 
The Tigers are now 3-5 overall, and 1-2 in the SAC. They have a big match-up at home on Thursday against John Brown University, who is also 1-2 in conference play. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 pm.