LAWTON, Okla. – Vinicius Telo and Milton Garner made the big plays down the stretch Saturday as Cameron University broke away from Panhandle State for a 73-63 men’s basketball victory in the Aggie Gym.
After the Pan-Aggies battled back from a 10-point deficit to arrange a 57-57 tie with 5:18 to play, Telo answered with nine points and Garner added five points and a big assist to lead Cameron to its second win in as many nights.
Telo, a 6-8 sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished with 24 points in his second appearance for Wade Alexander’s club. He was seven of 12 from the field and eight of nine from the free throw line.
He was joined in double figures by Nathan Murray, a 6-6 senior who also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots; Garner, whose only trey came at the 2:46 mark – one second before the shot clock expired that gave CU a 64-59 lead -- and Thomas Razor, whose trey at the end of the first half put Cameron up, 36-32.
Murray and Garner had 11 each and Razor 10. Razor also had four of CU’s eight assists.
“That was huge,” coach Alexander said of Murray’s contribution.
Kevin Geofroy led the Panhandle attack with 17 points, while Ray Pinckney added 15 and three-point specialist Josh Edenborough 13.
Cameron won it at the free throw line, hitting 20 of 22 attempts for 90.9 percent. PSU was 14 of 26.
“They were ready for us,” Alexander said. “They knew our plays. When you’re not executing well and the other team knows your plays better than yourself, you can struggle.
“We did struggle a little bit on that end, but we got in foul trouble, and got the wrong guys in foul trouble, and it’s tough.
“A win’s a win. We have some things to work on.”
Garner went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 15:40 mark and Davis at 8:40. Garner returned just in time to hit his big trey and slip a pass to Telo for another three-pointer.
Panhandle made its run by committing just one turnover in the second half. CU had four.
“The main thing is we wanted to keep their shooting percentage down, and we weren’t guarding them very well, getting hands in their face,” Alexander said. “They were getting open shots all night. We turned it over nine times ourselves the first half. If we turn it over nine times in the second half, we lose the game.
“Plus, we shot 20 of 22 from the free throw line. That’s the best I’ve ever seen.
“It’s definitely our Achilles heel when we have to go to our bench right now. At the same time, if we can keep winning these games and get that bench stronger, we’ll have a better shot later down the road in January.
“Telo and Garner are the keys to our offense late like that. We have some other guys who can do some things. Everyone just has to learn his role right now.”
Cameron will be on the road Friday for an exhibition game with Texas-San Antonio. Alexander’s squad returns home for a Nov. 22 tussle with Hillsdale Baptist.
