Devan White had 10 points and 13 rebounds to help lead OC to a 64-63 overtime win at Oklahoma City University on Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 26, 2012) – Freshman Nick Tate went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in overtime and Oklahoma Christian survived a last-second shot by Oklahoma City University to win 64-63 at Abe Lemons Arena on Thursday night.
OC (13-7, 7-6 Sooner Athletic Conference) completed a regular-season sweep of OCU (9-8, 6-7) and snapped a 14-game road skid against the Stars. The last time the Eagles won at OCU before Thursday was in 1997, when Brad Wedel scored 29 points in a 93-90 win at the Stars' former home, Frederickson Fieldhouse. That win came during the freshman season of future NAIA player of the year Jay Mauck.
OC coach Dan Hays had never beaten the Stars at Abe Lemons Arena, which opened in 2000.
Tate, who led OC with 16 points, missed five of his first six free throws but made his last eight attempts from the line. He made a pair with 42.9 seconds left in overtime to put the Eagles up 62-60 and two more with 21.9 seconds left to make it 64-60.
Shane Rogers answered with a 3-pointer for the Stars with 9.4 seconds left. Orlan Jackman fouled OC's Will Reinke with 7.7 seconds left and Reinke missed both free throws. OCU chose not to call a timeout after Reinke's misses and Jones missed a 10-foot runner from the right wing at the buzzer for the Stars.
OC's previous four losses – three to ranked foes and another to a team receiving votes in the NAIA Division I poll – had come by a total of eight points. Their most recent game had been a 64-63 loss at No. 2 Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday, in a game in which OC missed a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds.
"These guys deserved this," Hays said. "We were down this week in practice. I was down a little bit. You just keep losing those nail-biters and it just takes it out of you."
The Eagles won despite finishing 3-of-23 from 3-point range (13 percent), 21-of-67 from the field (31.3 percent) and 19-of-29 from the line (65.5 percent). The key was their defense, as OCU shot just 35.6 percent from the field (21 of 59) and 31.3 percent from 3-point range (5 of 16).
"Our defense was good the whole game," Hays said. "We gave up 63 points in 45 minutes. Credit (assistant) coach (Bob) Battisti and (assistant) coach (Rob) McKinzie for our defense."
OCU led 29-21 at halftime and 49-37 after a 3-pointer by Rogers with 6:32 left. The Eagles closed regulation on a 17-5 run over the final 5:31. Tate went 4-of-4 from the line and hit a 3-pointer to help close the gap and Brandon Troutman nailed a trey with 19.7 seconds left to tie the game at 58-58.
Jones slipped on OCU's final possession of regulation and managed only a 30-foot heave at the buzzer.
OC never trailed in overtime. The Eagles took their first lead of the game at 60-58 on Tate's basket with 4:49 left. Tate, who also had nine rebounds, put the Eagles ahead for good with his free throws with 42.9 seconds left.
"I'm kind of at a loss for words," Hays said. "We lose four games by a total of eight points since Christmas in conference, and that's never happened before, at least to my team. Some of it hasn't been great free-throw shooting. Some of it has just been not executing the right thing at the right time. It looks like we're getting over that a little bit. We hopefully can string some things together."
Devan White recorded a double-double for OC with 10 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Eagles post a 51-40 rebounding advantage. Reinke added 12 points and eight rebounds while point guard Kendre Talley had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Rogers led OCU with 15 points. Jones had 13 points and nine rebounds and Jackman added 10 points for the Stars.
OC will host Mid-America Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m.
