OKLAHOMA CITY -- Midwestern State's Jermane Carter scored all but one of his game-high 22 points in the second half Thursday night in the Eagles' Nest at the Payne Athletic Center.

But it wasn't enough to overcome another subpar shooting night as the Mustangs fell 72-64 to Oklahoma Christian.

"Our shooting was atrocious. Just atrocious," MSU coach Justin Leslie said. "By our count, we missed nine layups. Then we fell asleep on defense during their run. That was just too much of a margin to overcome."

Oklahoma Christian used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to push the lead to a game-high 14 points after Mount'tae Edmundson hit a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 56-42 lead with 7:34 to play.

That was after the Mustangs battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first half attempting to play without their top scorer.

"The best thing they did was get two early fouls on Jermane Carter," Leslie said. "We're just not good enough to play without him especially with other guys out."

Foul trouble limited Carter to just four minutes in the first half, but the senior from Mount Laurel, N.J. battled his way to make a steady trail the free throw line with aggressive play in the second half.

Carter hit 11 of his 14 free throws after the break while going 5-for-9 from the field to log his third performance with at least 20 points this season.

Midwestern State shot less than 40-percent from the field for the fifth consecutive game finishing at 33.3 percent (20-of-60). The Mustangs connected on less than 20 percent from the arc for the third straight game going 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) including a 1-of-11 effort in the second half.

Still, Midwestern battled back with a 9-1 run to close to within 66-62 after Jordan Teal completed a three-point play with 1:32 remaining.

But Oklahoma Christian (2-4) made 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute of the game to hold on for their second win of the season.

Sophomore Drew Tennial paced OC with 15 points, while D.J. Walter added 13.

MSU junior Jamey Sanders joined Carter in double figures hitting two 3-pointers to finish with 11 points, while Jalin Brown and John Weger pitched in eight points each.

MSU (3-5), which fell for the fourth time in the last five games, enjoys a week long layoff for finals week before returning to action next Friday against Arkansas-Fort Smith at Stubblefield Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.