In a battle of conference leaders, the NOC Mavericks outlasted Murray State 65-55 Saturday afternoon at the Foster-Piper Fieldhouse.
The Lady Mavs lost a close one to Murray State 80-77.
With the win, the 10th ranked Mavs (15-1) improved to 10-1 in league play while Murray State (13-4) fell to 10-2.
Saturday’s win also moved the Mavs into first place in the OCAC.
NOC’s women (4-11) fell to 4-6 in Region 2 while Murray (7-5) improved to 5-5 in league action.
Mavs 65, Murray 55
Tyrel Morgan and JD Ray led NOC with 16 points each in the 65-55 win.
Morgan had nine boards while Ray had four assists and Nate Goodlow had five steals.
The Mavs led throughout on Saturday and steadily built on their lead throughout the game. After leading 31-23 at half, the Mavs built a 58-42 lead and the closest Murray would get was 63-54 with 1:21 left.
“Our game against Murray was pretty high level defensively for both teams,” said coach Donnie Jackson. “Neither team gave up very many good looks. The game was decided with the run we made in the second half.”
The Mavs held Murray to 38% shooting, 24% from 3-point range while the Mavs shot 44% from the field and 22% from behind the arc.
Murray 80, Lady Mavs 77
The Lady Mavs were led by Gavriel Myers with 21 while Mia Brown added 13 and Delaney Reimer 11.
Brown added eight rebounds while Myers had seven. Celeste Moore had five assists and Myers had four steals. Kaitlyn Clemons had four blocked shots.
“Our defense created some good scoring opportunities for us tonight, but we’re also adjusting to defensive rotations when we’re put in position to help,” said coach Greg Krause. “I thought we showed improvement in several areas tonight, definitely good things to build on as we move closer to playoffs.”
The Lady Mavs led 40-36 at the half on the strength of two late steals by Myers and Brown giving NOC a four point lead at the break.
Murray then went on a 28-18 run to take a 64-58 lead into the final quarter.
NOC cut the Lady Aggie lead to 71-70 on a Myers driving layup but Murray then hit four free throws to build a 75-70 lead with 1:51 left.
Brown then cut the lead to 77-75 on a layup and then a Reimer jumper cut the lead to 79-77 with :04.9 left but that’s as close as the Lady Mavs would come.
Mavs 65, Murray 55
1 2–Total
Murray 23 32– 55
Mavs 31 34– 65
Mavs–T. Morgan 16, J. Ray 16, S. Grisby 6, A. Lederer 5, M. Crawford 5, M. Berry 5, N. Goodlow 4, J. Wilson 4, D. McLane 4.
Murray 80, Lady Mavs 77
1 2 3 4–Total
Murray 14 22 28 16– 80
Lady Mavs 13 27 18 19– 77
Lady Mavs–G. Myers 21, M. Brown 13, D. Riemer 11, L. Coates 9, C. Bailey 8, C. Brinlee 7, C. Moore 4, M. Livesay 3, K. Clemons 1.
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services which create life-changing experiences and develop students as effective learners and leaders within their communities in a connected, ever changing world.
NOC, a public two-year community college, serves nearly 5,000 students on the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater, online, and the University Center in Ponca City. Of these students about 60% receive financial aid and/or scholarships. Over 80% of NOC students complete their degree with zero debt.
NOC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science. The associate degree fulfills lower-division course work which is applicable towards a bachelor’s degree.
Call (580) 628-6200 for more information about Northern Oklahoma College or visit www.noc.edu .
