Aggie Basketball Brings Home Two SAC Wins

McPherson, Kan.—The Panhandle State men’s and women’s basketball teams edged out two-point victories over Central Christian College Thursday evening to improve their records to 10-6 each. The Aggie women now sit at 3-6 in Sooner Athletic Conference play after defeating the Tigers on the road 62-60. The men’s team pulled out an 81-79 victory and hold a 4-5 record within the SAC.

Madison Dearmin opened scoring for the Aggies with a fast-break shot at the 6:10 mark in the first period. Dearmin finished as the team’s leading scorer and marked a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Teammate Addison Munsch also earned a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards; Munsch held the game-high in assists with six and took three steals in the game. Junior Monti Regier put up her best scoring performance of the season with 18 points, all scored from three-point range. Hannah Faulks was big on defense, credited with five blocks and a game-high of 12 rebounds.

The Aggie women outscored the Tigers 17-11 in the first period and owned a 33-27 lead at halftime. Central Christian fought back after the break and pulled within one point (58-57) of Panhandle with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The Aggies shot perfect at the line as the clock ticked down to claim final victory. As a team the Aggies averaged 75 percent in free throw shooting for the game. The team shot under 30 percent from the field and went 7-26 beyond the arc.

Head Coach Victor Esparza was happy to leave with a victory stating, “Winning on the road is always tough. We found a way to win and that’s what is important for us. With tough competitions still on the horizon Esparza continues to strive for improvement stating, “We still have some things to clean up; we had stretches where we were good and others, not so good. But I enjoy coaching this group, they have each other’s back no matter what happens in the game. This has been the closest team I have been around.”

The men’s team trailed throughout the first seven minutes of the game, claiming a one-point (17-16) advantage at the 13-minute mark off a successful shot from three-point range from Dillan Landers. Central Christian came back to swing the lead in their favor three times before the break and went into the locker room up 40-38 over the Aggies. The Tigers would gain five-point lead (51-46) five minutes into the second half, but Panhandle State stuck to their guns and battled through six score ties before edging ahead by nine points with less than two minutes left in the game. Steady shooting by the Tigers took the game down to the wire as the score stood at 80-79 (advantage Panhandle) with 21 seconds left on the clock. Jerrell Doorbal came through clutch with a two-point shot and five seconds remaining, a missed shot by CCC at the buzzer sealed the win for the Aggies.

With a game-high performance at the boards, sophomore Jaedon Whitfield maintained his double-double status totaling 25 points and 15 rebounds for the Aggies. Whitfield offered a team-high of four assists and hauled in two blocks and one steal in the game. DK Sumo put up 22 points for Panhandle followed by Doorbal and Tyler Pate who finished with 15 and ten points each respectively. Doorbal also brought down nine boards and two blocks; the redshirt sophomore stepped up to lead the Aggies in bench performance in the absence of injured starter Jace Kerr.

Coach Jerry Olson felt that Central Christian was a great opponent, playing “as well as anyone in the league.” The Tigers had just come off a victory over a No. 14-ranked Oklahoma City men’s team. Olson offered appreciation for the team effort he received from the Aggies stating, “Our guys really stepped up. Whitfield was great all around, Sumo just continues to make big plays, Pate had some key buckets and then Jerrell Doorbal. Wow did he step up big time! I’m really happy for him [Doorbal].”

Aggie Basketball continues their road tour this weekend with a stop in OKC for two SAC matchups against Oklahoma City University on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Aggie women face a No. 8-ranked Stars team, while the men meet with a No. 14-ranked OC team. Panhandle State hopes to have a solid fan base in the stands to support them in these tough contests. For those unable to make the trip, live stats and video feed will be offered online with links available at opsuaggies.com on the basketball schedule pages.