The men’s basketball team defeated the Oklahoma City University Stars 73-69 at home Saturday night.

Despite winning the game and pushing the team’s season records to 17-6 overall and 10-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the team still has much to improve on, said head coach Brennen Shingleton. 

“Talk is cheap and we can all say we have the answers but you gotta be able to produce those answers,” Shingleton said. 

The win followed a 100-89 loss to Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, Okla., according to ramsports.net. 

Shingleton said that coming into Saturday’s game the team needed to focus on application and defense after the loss on Thursday night. 

“With seven games left in the season, your margin for error is zero,” Shingleton said. “We really gotta get back on track and put something together here, kind of game-by-game.” 

Forward position player LaMont Simmons said defense has been the team’s focus this season. 

“For this game I really wanted to focus on defense,” Simmons said. “My mindset going into this game was rebound and defense.” 

As the team continues to focus on improving, Simmons said, winning against Oklahoma City was positive reinforcement. 

“It left me feeling more confident in my game,” said Simmons, who scored 11 points, according to ramsports.net. 

Guard Davon Berry said he hoped to help keep the team together during the game and maintain a flow in their performance. 

He said one of the greatest strengths of the team as a whole is everyone’s passion. 

“We all love the game and we all love each other,” Berry said. 

The Rams previous overall record against Oklahoma City was 5-8 dating back to their first game against the team in 2014, according to ramsports.net.  

After Saturday’s game, the Rams have three more home games, according to ramsports.net. 

Junior mass communication major Kaylia Brown was in the audience as the Rams took on the Oklahoma City and said a few players stood out to her. 

“I’m a Joe fan,” Brown said, referring to guard Joe Cook-Green. “He’s a team player that can move the ball when needed or pull up and make the shot himself. He’s just good at analyzing and adapting to do what needs to be done for the team.”  

The Rams play their next home game 8 p.m. Thursday against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, according to ramsports.net.