Oklahoma Panhandle State University

There were several lead changes in the opening half, and with just under ten minutes on the clock, Trayvon Williams nailed a jumper to give OPSU the lead at 21-17, and at the six minute mark it was tied 25-25. The action was fast at both ends of the court and with 3:00 on the clock a Randy Daniel dunk put the Aggies ahead 33-27.

The Aggies went to the halftime break with a 42-38 advantage. OPSU coach Jerry Olson used nine players in the first half and guards Reggie Lassiter (ten points) and Marcale Marshall (nine) led the way. Kevin Geofroy, another fast moving OPSU guard, came up with three first half steals.

The second half underway — with 18:41 on the clock, a Lassiter lay-up increased the Aggie advantage to 44-38, and with 15:47 left a Steph Colvin two kept the Aggies in front at 50-45. However, St. Mary’s responded quickly with seven straight points and seized the lead at 52-50 with 14:27 to go in the game. At the 12:36 mark, a nice three point play by Lassiter cut the Rattler margin to 58-57, and with 12 minutes on the clock, it was tied 59-59 and both teams were working hard for victory.

At the nine minute mark, the Rattlers had forged a five point advantage (66-61); however, with seven minutes remaining, the Rattlers were up by eleven points (74-63). With three minutes left, the Rattlers were still ahead by eleven at 84-73. The Aggies kept fighting until the end, but St. Mary’s got the win at 93-79 to raise their conference record to 8-4 (13-9).

Curtis Mitchell was the high scorer for the Rattlers with 23 points, while Marshall was tops for the Aggies with 24.

Also for the Aggies, Lassiter scored 19 and Colvin dropped in 14. Marshall was the OPSU rebounding leader with six, and he and Colvin each had four assists.

The Aggies (now 5-6 in the conference and 9-12 overall) will be back on their home court on Thursday in Goodwell to go against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.