Aggie Men Open New Year with a Win at Bacone

Muskogee, Okla.—Sooner Athletic Conference competition continued for both Aggie basketball teams, as the Panhandle State men’s and women’s teams took on Bacone College Thursday evening in Muskogee. The Aggie men improved to 8-3 and marked their second SAC victory as they defeated the Warriors 84-79. The women’s team fell in their matchup 64-57 and also own an 8-3 season record with one conference win.

Four Aggie men brought double-digit numbers to the board as starters DK Sumo, Tyler Pate, Jaedon Whitfield and Jace Kerr combined for 72 of the team’s 79 points. Sumo tied with Bacone’s Jason Gammage for the game-high in scoring with 21 points; the freshman added nine points from the line and six beyond the arc. Senior Tyler Pate put in a solid performance all-around totaling 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the game. Whitfield and Kerr matched with 16 points apiece, with Whitfield earning a double-double with a game-high of 13 rebounds; Kerr finished with seven boards, three assists and one steal.

Head Coach Jerry Olson was happy with the road win, though he did not feel his team played to their best abilities, “We shot 34 percent and missed 21 free throws.” Olson was pleased by the performances from his starters stating, “DK [Sumo] made some big plays down the stretch and Jaedon [Whitfield] and Jace [Kerr] got some big rebounds.” He concluded, “This group finds ways to win, which is a nice quality to have.”

For the women, two players contributed heavily on both ends of the court as Addison Munsch and Madison Dearmin each earned double-doubles with their efforts. Munsch held the game-highs in both scoring and rebounds with 17 points and 13 boards; the sophomore also marked three steals and one block in the game. Dearmin notched her third double-double of the season on 14 points and 11 rebounds. Panhandle’s next leading scorer was junior Monti Regier who added seven points to the board with two three-pointers and one foul shot.

With 31 turnovers in the game, Aggie Women’s Basketball Head Coach Victor Esparza felt his team gave up too many offensive rebounds. “I have to find a way to make us better on offense; that falls on my shoulders.” At the boards, the Aggies gave up 19 offensive rebounds and 20 defensive to Bacone; Panhandle State made away with ten offensive rebounds and 31 on the defensive side. Esparza remains optimistic adding, “We are still playing great defense, but just need our offense to get better. We will continue to work hard and improve on all facets of the game.”

Panhandle State basketball remains on the road for their next SAC meeting on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. Both teams take on John Brown University, ranked No. 19 in NAIA Division I for women’s basketball. The Golden Eagle teams each hold 3-1 records in the SAC and 9-4 records on the season. Aggie fans may follow along online with live stats and video links available at opsuaggies.com on the basketball schedule pages.