Eric Randall went 9-of-15 from the field and scored a career-high 21 points in OC's 71-53 win on Monday over Northwestern Oklahoma State.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 5, 2011) – Eric Randall scored a career-high 21 points and Oklahoma Christian pulled away in the second half for a 71-53 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Monday night on Dan Hays Court in the Eagles' Nest.
OC (6-3, 2-2 Sooner Athletic Conference) evened the season series against Northwestern (4-6, 2-2), avenging a 72-61 loss in Alva on Nov. 21. It could be the final meeting between the two teams for a while, as Northwestern already has said it plans to apply for NCAA Division II membership and leave the SAC following this school year.
OC led 26-24 at halftime before shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half and pulling away from the Rangers. The Eagles took care of the basketball, committing only 11 turnovers while Northwestern had 21.
Randall finished 9-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and added three assists. In the first game against the Rangers, Randall went scoreless.
"This is the best we've played all year, start to finish," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "Eric Randall was fantastic. His ability to play inside and out and hit the open shot was on display. It was a really good effort."
Hays credited first-year assistant coach Bob Battisti – a longtime head coach at Northwestern – for instilling a defensive mindset into the Eagles.
"Our kids are buying in and getting better (defensively)," Hays said. "We just have a tougher mindset. We were ready to play."
Northwestern led for much of the first half, but never by more than three points, as the teams traded basket-for-basket for more than 14 minutes. OC took its first lead since the early moments when Nick Tate hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to make it 26-24.
Jonathan Freemyer's dunk with 18:37 left in the game pulled the Rangers even at 26-26, but five different OC players scored during a 12-2 run that put the Eagles ahead 38-28 with 14:23 left.
Northwestern was within 48-42 after a 3-pointer by Marshall Bell with 9:34 left, but Kendre Talley made two free throws to start a 23-6 run. By the time Brandon Troutman hit two free throws with 1:29 left, the Eagles held a comfortable 71-48 lead.
"We're still not close to where we need to be, but we're creeping," Hays said.
The Eagles received votes in the first NAIA Division I regular-season coaches' poll, which was released Monday. The four votes OC received placed the Eagles 34th in the balloting. Four SAC teams are in the top 25 – No. 3 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 6 Rogers State, No. 13 Southern Nazarene and No. 20 John Brown (Ark.).
OC will host Southwestern Christian on Saturday in a nonconference game, then will be off until a Dec. 28 home game against Dallas Christian (Texas).
