LAWTON, Oklahoma (January 17) – The Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm rolled into Lawton this evening and left town with a double-header sweep of the Cameron Aggie basketball teams. The CU women (2-13) lost the first game of the night, 67-55, while the men’s team (9-6) dropped the second contest, 91-82.
While both losses are certainly disappointing, the Aggies may be able to take solace in the fact that both SOSU basketball teams are currently ranked in first place in the Lone Star Conference North Division. The SOSU men’s team is also ranked No. 16 nationally in the most recent poll.
The Aggie women’s basketball team began the game on a roll, at one time going up by as many as 11 points on SOSU (11-4). Their strong first half was not enough to counter their 21.2% second half field goal percentage however, as the Aggies fell just short of recording their first winning streak of the season.
“We played well in the first half but we let them off the hook,” Head Coach Kevin Hackerott said. “We got caught playing their game and missed a lot of easy baskets. They (SOSU) deserve all the credit, but it was really a tale of two halves.”
Senior forward Chelsea Turner had an amazing outing, recording her first double-double of the season. She finished with a team-high in points (12), rebounds (11), in addition to 2 assists.
“Chelsea just played great tonight, but we didn’t do a good job of getting her the ball,” Coach Hackerott said. “Our whole team played hard, but we were just in a funk and could not shoot well.”
While four Aggies finished in double-figures offensively, their 26.6% field goal percentage for the game was a step in the wrong direction.
Guards Shantel Whitaker (senior) and Tiffany Williams (junior) both had good halves, but could not put it together for the entire game. Whitaker had 10 points in the first half but none in the second, and finished with 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Williams had no points in the first half, but 10 in the second, to go along with her 9 boards and 2 assists.
Freshman forward Stephanie Plante was the other Aggie to finish with double-digit points, recording 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block.
“We can’t let our poor shooting effect the rest of our game,” Coach Hackerott said. “We just need to find other ways to win.”
The Aggie men’s team also had their chances against the Savage Storm (13-2), but came away with their fourth loss in a row. The Ags were down by nearly 20 points at one point late in the game, but came back to get within 5 with just seconds left.
“I told our team to not pay attention to the scoreboard and I’m excited that they never gave up,” Head Coach Maury Leitzke said. “They kept playing hard, but the offensive rebounding is what did us in.”
Cameron shot a strong 45% from the field, but did not have enough to counter SOSU’s 50% field goal percentage and combination of standout players Eric Babers and Steve Harrel.
Babers finished with a ridiculous 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists, barely missing out on the first triple-double in SOSU’s school history. Harrel also had a career night, finishing with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
“They (SOSU) are a very good team and played like a well-oiled machine tonight,” Coach Leitzke said.
The Aggies had their fair share of strong performances as well, in the form of guards Matt Reid (senior) and Joseph Bolden (junior). Reid finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Bolden compiled a team-high in points (24) and assists (7), in addition to 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
The duo also hit a number of huge three-pointers late in the game to keep Cameron close.
Recent addition Leboise Gladden (junior, forward) had an impressive outing, leading the Aggies with 9 rebounds in only his fourth game with the team. He also added 4 points, 1 assist, and 1 block.
“We gave a good team effort, but can’t dwell on this loss. We need to get back to work and get ready for East Central,” Coach Leitzke said.
The Cameron Aggie teams travel to Ada, Oklahoma this weekend to take on the ECU Tigers. Stay tuned to goaggies.cameron.edu for possible rescheduling information due to the impending storm set to hit Lawton this weekend.