Men's Basketball Ends Abe Lemons Classic in Loss to Missouri Baptist

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 4, 2023) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team closed play at the Abe Lemons Classic with a loss to Missouri Baptist University (MBU) despite a late comeback attempt. The Saints are now 0-3 on the season while the Spartans jump to 1-2.

Head Coach Chris Dial said, "We put a good second half together again and corrected some mistakes, but the hole we dug in the first half proved to be too deep. We have a lot of work to do when we get back home, especially with a ranked Wayland Baptist University team coming down. We took steps forward this weekend in one of the toughest classics in the country."

History

This was the first meeting between the teams.

Basics

The Saints struggled in the first half against the Spartans. They shot 39.1 percent from the field and hit 2-of-9 from three-point range. Missouri Baptist forced 10 turnovers by the Saints and shot over 50 percent in field goals. Paul Minjoth had 10 points for OLLU, and the Spartans led by 15 points heading into halftime.

OLLU closed the gap in the second half and only trailed by two points with 11 minutes remaining. The back-and-forth scoring continued, and the Saints took the lead with two minutes left. The Spartans scored six of the last eight points including hitting key free throws after the Saints were forced to foul. The Saints finished the Abe Lemons Classic with two losses.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Lonzo Rand led the Saints with 20 points. Olivier Yannis Borgol tallied a team-high seven rebounds. Rob Gil had six assists for the Saints.

Mujtaba Alkhaldi led MBU with 14 points. Keyyaum Batchman grabbed five rebounds. D'Mari Wiltz led the team with 10 assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 24-of-56 shooting for 42.9 percent, 4-of-19 from three-point range for 21.1 percent and 29-of-40 from the free-throw line for 72.5 percent. MBU shot 28-of-55 for 50.9 percent, 6-of-16 three pointers for 37.5 percent and 23-of-29 from the free-throw line for 79.3 percent.

The Saints grabbed 40 rebounds while MBU collected 32. Both teams committed 15 turnovers.

Up next

The Saints host No. 18-ranked Wayland Baptist University on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.