By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Dayton, OH---The Express men's basketball team continued its fine turnaround season and remained perfect in the OCCAC with an 84-70 win over Sinclair Community College on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman forward James Kelly (Pioneer/Ann Arbor, MI) led the Express with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist. In the first half alone, he had 19 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block. Kelly finished the game 10-for-23 from the field in 32 minutes.

Justin Edmonds (Albion/Albion, MI), a freshman guard, scored nine points in each half and finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block before fouling out with 5:18 remaining.

A back-and-forth first half saw five ties and five lead changes until the Express took control with about 12 minutes remaining. Owens then took a 45-39 lead into the locker room. In the half, the Express shot 18-for-41 overall, 5-for-15 from three point range and 4-for-6 from the foul line. Sinclair shot 13-for-30 overall, 1-for-5 from three point range and 12-for-13 from the foul line in the first half.

The Express then led throughout the second half as Sinclair didn't get any closer than three with 15:51 remaining. Second half shooting totals for the Express were 14-for-31 overall, 1-for-7 from three point range and 10-for-13 from the foul line. Sinclair shot 11-for-35 overall in the second half, 1-for-12 from three point range and 8-for-9 from the foul line.

Overall, the Express shot 32-for-72 from the field, 6-for-22 from three point range, and 14-for-19 from the foul line. Sinclair finished 24-for-65 overall, 2-for-17 from three point range and 20-for-22 from the foul line.

Owens held a strong advantage in rebounding with a 51 to 36 edge, including a 17 to 9 advantage on the offensive glass. Other advantages for the Express included: assists (20-10), blocks (4-1), points in the paint (40-32), points off turnovers (19-17), second chance points (18-12), and bench points (28-2). The two teams had an equal amount of turnovers (23) and steals (11).

Sinclair's largest lead was four with 16:59 remaining in the first half, while the largest lead for the Express was 16 with 22 seconds remaining in the game.

Aside from Kelly and Edmonds, Jeff Burroughs (Belleville/Ypsilanti, MI) had 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Jerron Jamerson (Washington/South Bend, IN) had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block. Jordan Basinger (Kalida/Kalida, OH) added 10 rebounds, four points, three assists and one steal in 17 minutes off the bench.

Sinclair was led by Charlie Byers, who finished with 21 points, four steals and three assists. Gavin Schumann and Jonathan Bibbs each chipped in 18 points, while Bibbs had seven rebounds and Schumann had three assists and three steals. Trent Maddox added 10 rebounds.

The Express (15-5 overall, 2-0 OCCAC) will next play Wednesday at home against Cuyahoga Community College in the SHAC at 7:30 p.m. Sinclair falls to 11-6 overall and 0-1 in the OCCAC.