OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Mar. 3, 2011) – The Oklahoma Christian men's basketball team was handed a first round loss in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday night falling to No. 14 Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 85-66.

As the game started, the Eagles were the first to take the lead when Andre Vaughn drove in a basket in the paint. After the Southern Nazarene men quickly responded to tie things up, the OC men again regained the lead on a jumper from Devan White.

Two more ties followed as the squads exchanged baskets, prior to the Crimson Storm scoring 10 unanswered points to lead 16-6 with 13:18 still to play in the period.

The Eagles never again saw the lead as the SNU men held at least a six-point advantage over the next 10 minutes.

With 3:08 left in the half, Kendre Talley hit two free throws to bring the Eagles within four points. After the SNU men responded with a three, back-to-back OC baskets from Jeff Crocker and Vaughn brought the Eagles to within three with 2:13 left.

With just two seconds till the buzzer, the Crimson Storm sunk a trey to take a six-point lead at 41-35 heading into halftime.

Early into the second period, SNU started a 15-3 run to make an 18-point margin over the Eagles with 14:38 still to go.

The Eagles responded cutting the gap back to 14, however, OC's efforts never allowed them any closer. The Crimson Storm had a hard time missing during the second period as they cruised to a 24-point lead with 5:43 showing on the clock.

During the last minutes, the Eagles hit several baskets to cut the final Crimson Storm lead to 19 as SNU claimed the 85-66 victory.

Talley led the Eagles on the night with 14 points while Will Reinke contributed another 13 and four assists. Vaughn totaled eight points and Crocker and White added seven apiece.

The first round loss closes the season for the Eagles as they finish with a 17-13 overall record and 11-12 conference record.

-OC-