Pryor, Okla.— Men's basketball fell to No. 8 Langston University 97-62 on day one of the Patriot Auto Group Classic yesterday Friday, Oct. 30, in Pryor, Oklahoma after a first-half surge put the Spires in a 21-point hole.
Jordan Brown led USM with 24 points.
Joe Clark scored the Spires' opening basket off an assist from
Zach Hayslett, and Brown made both free throws at 16:51 to pull the Spires within 8-7. The Lions stretched the lead to 32-11 before Brown's 3-pointer and
Hassan Flemming's layup helped trim the deficit to 34-19 with 3:26 remaining. Langston pushed its advantage to 22 points late in the half and took a 49-28 lead into the break despite Brown's 13 first-half points.
Brown finished 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and made 4-of-5 free throws while adding three assists. Flemming provided 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and four rebounds. Clark contributed five points and a team-high six rebounds, while Hayslett finished with five points and two assists.
The Spires opened the second half with several productive possessions. Brown's steal led to a Hayslett 3-pointer at 18:13, and Clark's layup cut the deficit to 52-35. Flemming brought the Spires within 17 again at 54-37 with 17:08 remaining. After the margin grew to 24, Brown connected on consecutive 3-pointers to make it 64-46 at 13:46.
LU answered with three straight baskets for a 70-46 lead. Brown completed a three-point play at 11:38, but Cook followed with two 3-pointers in a 42-second span to push the margin to 76-49. Cook scored all 15 of his points in the second half on five 3-pointers, with his last giving Langston its largest lead, 95-53, at 4:56. Alexander led the Lions with 17 points.
The Spires shot 37.3% overall and 6-of-27 from beyond the arc, compared with Langston's 58.1% shooting. Langston held a 42-21 rebounding advantage and outscored Saint Mary 50-28 in the paint and 54-15 off the bench. USM committed 14 turnovers to Langston's 11, with Langston holding a 20-6 edge in points off turnovers.
Saint Mary scored nine of the final 11 points.
AC Rollins ended Langston's 17-0 run with a 3-pointer assisted by
Alex Mattson, and
Preston Ross followed with a steal and layup.
Camory Hall made two free throws with 58 seconds left to establish the final score. Rollins then blocked Charles Gauthier's shot with 26 seconds remaining on a possession that ended in a Langston turnover.
Coming Up…
Spire basketball gets right back to it today as they battle against Texas Wesleyan University in the final day of the Patriot Auto Group Classic. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. in the Burdick Center.
