**For
Immediate Release**
Aggies Dump Lincoln 88-71, Advance to Playoffs
by Aggie Sports on 02/27/06
Goodwell, Okla. - An enthusiastic crowd
for EPIC TOUCH Night in Oscar Williams Fieldhouse witnessed
a great men’s
college basketball game on Friday night. Oklahoma Panhandle
State lost to Lincoln 71-61 in January, but the Blue Tigers
had no such luck the second time around as the Aggies picked
up a convincing 88-71 victory. Friday night was also OPSU’s
Winter Homecoming.
The big win also gave the Curt Connor coached Aggies a berth
in the Heartland Conference Tournament, which is set to begin
on Wednesday.
OPSU’s Eddie Moss nailed a 3-pointer 47 seconds into
the game on Friday to make it 3-0, and the Aggies never trailed
in the contest. With 13 minutes left in the first half, the
Aggies had built a 22–6 lead.
In the final minutes of the first period, Lincoln came back
with a run of their own, but the Aggies still had a 40-34 advantage
at half time.
The second half was a good college scrap between two well-conditioned
teams. Lincoln cut the OPSU margin down to five points twice,
but the Aggies closed it up hard and fast for their tenth win
of the season.
Moss, a 6’0” senior from
Chicago, was spectacular for the Aggies, leading the way
with 32 points and also contributing four assists and six
big steals. Late in the first half, the cat-quick guard stripped
Lincoln players of the ball on two consecutive possessions,
each time converting those steals into crowd-pleasing slam
dunks.
Dependable Aggie senior forward Juan
Carson was splendid on Friday. The 6’4” Tulsa
native scored 20 points and added four rebounds and four
steals.
OPSU center Aaron Harrison continued
to use his 6’9”,
295-pound frame to his advantage as the senior bulled his way
to a dozen points and 11 rebounds. William Preston, a 6’7” senior
forward, was also solid with nine points and six boards.
Senior sparkplug Tim Anderson, a 5’10” guard,
scored eight points and threaded the needle for nine assists.
Although often the shortest man on the court, Anderson played
with authority the entire game.
The win upped the OPSU record to 7-5 in the Heartland Conference
and 10-17 overall.
Like the Lady Aggies, the OPSU men will
play the Montana State University-Billings Yellowjackets
on Wednesday in the first-round conference tournament game
in Billings, Mont. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. MST (8:30
p.m. CST). The game will be carried by KGYN radio, live via
internet broadcast. Log on to www.opsu.edu and click on Athletics
to find the link. Fans may also listen to the game on PTCI’s
DITV channel 150.
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