Article by Cloey Kelly
Photo by Jeremy Nelson
McPherson, Kan. – The Central Christian College men's basketball team solidified a 91-84 home win this weekend against the Oklahoma City Stars.
The Stars made the first shot, but the Tigers took that as motivation and quickly established their lead with a three pointer by Omari Maulana at the 18:27 mark. At the 13:33 mark, Isaiah Perry pushed the Tiger's lead ahead by eight points.
The Stars regained the lead with their two-pointer at the 09:59 mark. The Tigers would go into the half leading 45-39.
During the second half the Stars reclaimed their lead. By the 12:48 mark they held an eight point lead.  The Tigers turned up their defense and narrowed the Stars lead to two points before a timeout is called by Central.
After the break, the Tigers were revitalized and speedily obtained a new lead and maintained it the rest of the game. The Tigers finished the battle strong with a three pointer by Malachi Farr with nine seconds left in the game, resulting in a seven-point win for the Tigers.
 
Key Statistic
The Tigers 3-point shooting was the difference, it helped them to extend their lead in key moments. Central shot 40% from deep.

By the Numbers
For the game, the Tigers made 28 of 62 (45%) of their attempts from the floor. 
From beyond the arc, they were 10 of 25 (40%)
At the free throw line, the Tigers were 25 of 33 (69%).
The Tigers were outrebounded by the Stars 48 to 37, and the Tigers had 10 total assists while the Stars only had 8 assists.
 
Tiger Leaders
Points: Omari Maulana (31)
Rebounds: Chris Whitten (8) 
Assists: Jaeden Whitten (3)
Steals: Omari Maulana, Chris Whitten, Jevarrick Butler, Andre Shelby, Malachi Farr, Isaiah Perry (1)
Blocks: Andre Shelby (3)

Coaches Quote:
"This three week stretch we are currently in, is tough for us, having five of six on the road.  So, this one was important for us to get at home.  Winning at home is critical if we are going to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. 
Just like every game we have been a part of thus far in conference play, we were battle tested.  After doing some things positive in the first half and taking a lead into the locker room.  We came out and didn't play well for most of the second half and found ourselves down.  OCU does a good job attacking your defense with down hill drives, and the second half we didn't do a good enough job containing the ball, we got in bad rotational positions which made us vulnerable on the glass and putting ourself in bad spots where we committed way too many fouls.  Offensively, teams are trying to make it difficult for Chris to get clean looks, but that attention creates space and opportunities for other guys to make plays, I thought Omari and Jevarrick had some good moments where they made some big shots tonight that kept us in the fight. 
In the end, I am proud of our guys, they were resilient and just kept grinding out possessions to see if we could make some things go our way.   By the end of the game, we made enough plays to walk away with a win.
I still believe this team has a good amount of room for improvement.  We need to focus and embrace details and consistent discipline on both sides of the ball.  We need to be cleaner on offense, the ball needs to move more and we need to all sacrifice for the greater good of the team.  We have moments where we do and we are rewarded and we have moments we need to be better.  Defensively, it is going to take a greater effort and focus for us to be where we want to be.  Another big road trip ahead of us next week!" – Coach Tony Romero

Next Up
The Tigers (9-10, 6-7), are back in action later this week as they go to North Texas-Dallas and SAGU before coming back home to start a five game homestand! All games will be streamed live on the SAC Sports Network.