Oklahoma City, OK – After a rough outing at John Brown University on Saturday, the Bobcats had a quick turnaround with a trip to face the No. 23 team in the latest NAIA Rankings. The Stars of Oklahoma City University were riding a six-game winning streak to open the season, and the Bobcats knew they would have their hands full.

The Cats opened the game on tear with an 11-0 run in the first two minutes. Caleb Faulkner nailed a pair of treys, DJ Quarles added one of his own, and Andrew Dalton scored to fuel the run. Garrett Snyder nailed a three and hit a pair of free throws to put the Cats up 16-5. Two more Faulkner threes extended the lead and Andrew Dalton joined in, nailing a three of his own. Bryce Butler turned a steal into a traditional three-point play helping keep the Cats on a roll. Shooting continued to stay hot from the perimeter, with Kyle Flavin, Bryce butler, and Andrew Dalton each providing a three, and building a 36-20 lead with 9:12 left in the half. The Stars crept back into the game, but five points from Garrett Snyder kept the Cats ahead by 11. Dalton connected on a jumper at the 1:28 mark, and that would wrap up the Cats’ scoring in the half, taking a 46-39 lead to the locker room.

The Stars scored the first four points of the second half, before Garrett Snyder answered with a traditional three-point play. The Cats faced their first deficit of the day at the 17:12 mark, down 48-49. Seven lead changes occurred in the next four minutes, with buckets from Jay Baxter, Garrett Snyder, Brady Reynolds, and Andrew Dalton helping the cause. Andrew Dalton drained a pair of free throws to put the Cats up 59-57 with 12:50 to go. A Bryce Butler layup kept the Cats ahead, but their defense could not seem to shut down the Stars. After two Garrett Snyder free throws and a Caleb Faulkner jumper, the Cats were clinging to a 65-64 advantage. After a Stars three, Faulkner hit another layup, to tie things up, 67-67. Kyle Flavin nailed a three-pointer to return the lead to the Bobcats, but the Stars answered with a 5-0 run. The Cats added a quick five points of their own thanks to a layup from Brady Reynolds and a three-point play from Andrew Dalton. At the 2:41 mark, Jay Baxter snagged an offensive rebound and slammed one home to extend the lead to five points. As time was running down, the score was knotted at 81-81 with :34 to play. Caleb Faulkner drained a clutch three to take the 84-81 lead. Jay Baxter had a big-time block with 18 seconds left, and the Stars were forced to foul. DJ Quarles connected on one-of-two free throws, and Garrett Snyder made two-of-two to seal the victory. The Cats’ success from the three-point line and timely defense gave them the victory over the ranked Stars, 87-83.

Andrew Dalton scored 22 points, leading the offense. Caleb Faulkner and Garrett Snyder followed with 19 and 18, respectively. Bryce Butler and Jay Baxter led the team with 5 rebounds each.
 
The Cats will return to play at home against Southwestern Christian University on Thursday, November 21 at 7:45 p.m.