Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks men's basketball team needed a strong second half performance to put away Austin College 69-56 in Monday's American Southwest Conference match-up.
Trailing 29-27 at the half, the Eagles (8-7, 8-4) outscored the Kangaroos (1-14, 0-12) 42-27 in the second half to secure their second win over Austin College this season. Ozarks went on a 10-0 to open the second half to gain the game’s momentum and then shot 14-of-23 (60%) from the field in the final twenty minutes to help their cause. Habeeb Kareem and Chris Clark each scored two baskets and Josh Joyner added one to ignite the Eagles’ second half run. Austin hung tough for the next fifteen minutes and even cut the deficit to 52-50 with 5:49 left before Ozarks reeled off eight straight points. Brad Johnson started the surge at the 5:29 mark when he completed a three-point play. Kareem followed with a jumper seconds later and Scott McCall hit a three-pointer at the 4:44 mark to cap the spurt. Kareem ended the contest with a team-high 17 points. Clark and Joyner added 11 points apiece and Johnson contributed 10 points. Joyner had a team-best 9 rebounds. Joyner and Johnson both had 4 steals. Ozarks also hit 13-of-17 (76%) from the free throw line in the second half. Ozarks will host East Texas Baptist University on Thursday.
Topics: Athletics