Glen Oaks comes up just short in upset bid

Host St. Clair County Community College, ranked No. 10 in the National Junior College Athletic Association's Division II, survived a Saturday thriller against Glen Oaks, 78-75, in men's basketball action. 

The Vikings led by a couple possessions most of the first half and built a 20-14 advantage with a Taurus Baugh layup and a 3-pointer by Mike Phillips with eight minutes to play. A jumper by Aaron Humphrey Jr. gave GOCC a 24-16 lead with 6:34 left in the first half. But an 11-0 run by the Skippers gave the host team a 29-27 advantage with 2:09 remaining. Phillips tied the game with a layup but St. Clair would answer with back-to-back field goals for a four-point advantage. Humphrey scored on a lay-in and a free throw to make it a one-point defecit, 35-34, for the Vikings at intermission. 

A little less than a minute into the second half, a Humphrey Jr. free throw tied the game, but the Vikings would play from behind the rest of the way. St. Clair eventually built a 10-point lead by the 13:43 mark, but Glen Oaks had no intention of backing down and started clawing back. A triple by Phillips and a free throw by Baugh quickly cut the defecit to six. Another big 3-pointer by Phillips and a pair of made shots at the stripe by Akin Smith made it a 51-48 game in favor of the Skippers. 

Critical buckets by Darrius Roach and Humphrey Jr., along with a free throw by Demetrius Jenkins, kept the game at one possession midway through the second half. Will Jamison connected on a 3-pointer with 8:09 to play to keep GOCC within four points. Soon after, Humphrey Jr. scored to make it a two-point contest. A few seconds later, Jamison made a free throw to get the Vikings to within one point but St. Clair quickly puled ahead 66-60. 

Roach drained a 3-pointer to get back within one possession, followed by an Amauri Moore layup to make it 66-65 in favor of the Skippers. But that's as close as Glen Oaks would get to an upset as St. Clair finished with enough free throws to fend off the Vikings down the stretch. 

Roach led Glen Oaks with 19 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Humphrey Jr. posted 18 points and 16 boards, and Phillips had 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. Jamison registered nine points, Moore had seven, Baugh finished with three, and both Smith and Jenkins had two. 

St. Clair improved to 9-1 overall and Glen Oaks slipped to 5-5.