SAGU Seals Two Wins over Aggie Basketball

Waxahachie, Texas—The Aggie basketball teams each suffered losses on Saturday in an SAC double matchup at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. The Panhandle State women’s team fell 73-58 with a strong showing in the third period. The men’s team was bested by 67 points, as they were defeated 129-62 by the No. 24-ranked Lions.

The Aggie women trailed 36-24 at halftime and edged within five points after taking an 18-11 stand over the Lions in the third period. SAGU surged back with a 26-point performance in the fourth quarter to gain a one-game advantage over the Aggies in the conference standings.

Senior Madison Dearmin led the team in shooting and at the boards, earning a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. Addison Munsch was another key component, adding 22 points for Panhandle State and offering three assists, two blocks and four rebounds in the game. The Aggies averaged 32.3 percent in overall shooting and collected on just 3-24 shots at three-point range. Their opponents averaged over 40 percent from the field and landed 10-19 three-point shots. SAGU’s leading scorer, McKenzie Martin, put up a game-high of 28 points. Eva Atunuwa matched Dearmin at the boards with ten rebounds for the team-high.

Head Coach Victor Esparza summed things up stating, “It was a tough loss for us. We didn’t have great energy to start the game, but we kept fighting. We just didn’t have enough and made too many mistakes which we will learn from.”

Panhandle’s men struggled through a low-scoring first half that saw them down by 45 at the break (70-25). The Aggies shot under 22 percent during the first twenty minutes of play, behind the Lions who averaged 58 percent in first half shooting. Although they improved performance to 35 percent in the second half, the Aggies could not overcome the first-half deficit. SAGU doubled the Aggies’ efforts at the boards 64-32 and scored 100 points off the performance of non-starters. Panhandle’s leading scorers were Nathan Thompson and Brandon Green who each totaled ten points.

Both Coach Olson and Esparza look ahead and are eager to get back on their home court this week, with conference matchups on Thursday and Saturday. Esparza adds, “We are ready to play in front of our home crowd five of our last seven games. We hope to see Anchor D Arena packed and full of energy to help push us into the playoffs. Please come out and support our players.”

Thursday’s games begin at 6 p.m. with both teams taking on two top-ranked Oklahoma City opponents; the Stars men’s and women’s teams both sit at the top of the Sooner Athletic Conference standings and are each nationally ranked programs. On Saturday, the Aggies will face Central Christian College at 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday will also bring a Pink Out during the women’s game and the 2018 Winter Homecoming coronation during the men’s game. A wristband fundraiser will take place during both contests for Monson Wilkins, a local four-year old recently diagnosed with Leukemia. All home games will offer live stats and video streaming online at opsuaggies.com.