ALPINE, Tx.- It was nip and tuck the entire evening but a little home cookin’ went a long way as the Sul Ross State University Lobos claimed an 84-80 conference win over the University of the Ozarks Thursday night at the Gallego Center.
Sul Ross led by a slim 35-34 margin at the half after posting a 15-point run at the 5:50 mark in the first period.
The Eagles led for the majority of the second half but by no more than 10-points.
The Lobos tied the contest 71-71 with 3:36 left in regulation and then went on a 7-point run and never lost the lead although the Eagles pulled within 4 points in the waning seconds of the game.
Four Lobos posted double figures as Sid Hooper sported a season best 26 points along with 3 assists and 2 steals. Freshman Matt Santa Cruz tallied 17 points while C.J. Acosta and Tury Escobar aided the effort with 14 and 11 points repectively. Acosta and Escobar also led Lobo rebounders with 5 boards each to their credit.
Sully mustered 36.2% from the field in Thursday’s win while shooting 70.6% from the foul line.
Kareem Habeeb led the Eagle attack with a double-double performance of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Sul Ross picks up its first season and conference win at 1-3 and 1-2.
The Lobos will host Austin College at the Gallego Center on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score University of the Ozarks vs Sul Ross State 12/01/05 7:30 p.m. at Alpine, Texas (Pete P. Gallego Center) At Alpine, Texas (Pete P. Gallego Center) SUL ROSS STATE 84, UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS 80 UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS (2-3, 2-1 (ASC)) Habeeb Kareem 4-11 9-10 17; Scott McCall 4-10 1-2 11; Clint McHenry 4-7 2-4 10; Ted Beard 4-7 0-0 9; David Hamilton 3-13 0-1 7; Tony Daniels 3-6 1-2 7; Brad Johnson 1-6 4-6 6; Chris Clark 3-5 0-2 6; Josh Joyner 2-11 0-0 5; Chris Knowles 0-1 2-2 2; Martel Broughton 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Leverton 0-1 0-0 0; Tony Brock 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-80 19-29 80. SUL ROSS STATE (1-3, 1-2 (ASC)) Sidney Hooper 6-15 13-16 26; Matt Santa Cruz 5-7 5-10 17; C.J. Acosta 4-14 5-8 14; Arturo Escobar 3-10 5-6 11; Art Gonzalez 2-6 3-6 8; Aaron Hardwick 1-3 2-2 5; Ronnie Bell 0-1 2-2 2; Moises Morales 0-0 1-1 1; Abraham Ely 0-0 0-0 0; Jesus Banuelos 0-0 0-0 0; Patrick Sosa 0-0 0-0 0; Cornell Hunt 0-1 0-0 0; Jermaine Packer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 36-51 84. University of the Ozarks...... 34 46 - 80 Sul Ross State................ 35 49 - 84 3-point goals-University of the Ozarks 5-19 (Scott McCall 2-4; Josh Joyner 1-3; Ted Beard 1-1; David Hamilton 1-5; Chris Clark 0-1; Josh Leverton 0-1; Tony Brock 0-2; Brad Johnson 0-2), Sul Ross State 6-22 (Matt Santa Cruz 2-3; Aaron Hardwick 1-1; Art Gonzalez 1-5; Sidney Hooper 1-6; C.J. Acosta 1-3; Ronnie Bell 0-1; Arturo Escobar 0-3). Fouled out--University of the Ozarks-Scott McCall; Josh Joyner; Habeeb Kareem, Sul Ross State-C.J. Acosta. Rebounds-University of the Ozarks 64 (Habeeb Kareem 12), Sul Ross State 40 (C.J. Acosta 5; Arturo Escobar 5). Assists-University of the Ozarks 11 (Brad Johnson 7), Sul Ross State 12 (Matt Santa Cruz 6). Total fouls-University of the Ozarks 36, Sul Ross State 22. A-732