OC's Will Reinke narrowly missed a triple-double as OC beat Mid-America Christian 93-79 on Monday.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 2, 2012) – In one of the most dominant individual performances in Oklahoma Christian history, junior center Will Reinke had 26 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists and six blocked shots on Monday night, leading the Eagles past Mid-America Christian 93-79 at the Gaulke Activity Center.
Reinke – named as the Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week earlier Monday – went 12-of-13 from the field, set career highs for rebounds and assists and narrowly missed what would have been the third triple-double in OC history. He led six players in double figures for OC (10-3, 4-2), which extended its winning streak to five games.
"Wow! That is quite a line," OC coach Dan Hays said, looking at Reinke's numbers on the stat sheet. "We were good offensively. Our problem was we couldn't keep (MACU) off the foul line and we turned the ball over, which led to baskets for (MACU).
"But we did what we needed to do. It wasn't quite as smooth as we'd like, but it's a win."
OC shot a season-high 64.2 percent from the field (34 of 53), not far off the school single-game record of 67.7 percent, set in December 1986 against St. Edward's (Texas). The Eagles recorded assists on 29 of 34 baskets and went 7-of-14 from 3-point range, including a 3-of-4 effort by center Derek Johnson, who scored 15 points.
MACU (5-6, 0-6) stayed in the game because of OC's 17 turnovers and by posting a 43-34 edge in rebounding. The Evangels grabbed a whopping 21 offensive rebounds.
Reinke either scored or assisted on six of OC's first baskets as the Eagles sprinted to a double-digit lead. Eric Randall's 3-pointer – off a feed from Reinke – with 7:52 left in the first half out the Eagles ahead 29-11.
But MACU came roaring back. Charlie Shorter keyed a 22-6 run with 11 points and pulled the Evangels within 35-33 with 2:58 left in the half. OC led 41-37 at halftime.
MACU closed within 41-39 early in the second half before Reinke started a 12-4 OC run with a dunk off an assist from Kendre Talley. That rebuilt OC's lead to 53-43. A put-back by Reinke gave the Eagles a 69-53 bulge with 8:25 left and MACU came no closer than eight points the rest of the way. OC made 11 of 14 free throws in the final 2:13 to keep the Evangels at bay.
Talley finished with 14 points and eight assists, while Eric Randall had 13 points and Devan White and Willie Harper finished with 10 each for the Eagles.
Shorter led the Evangels with 28 points and eight rebounds, but no other MACU player reached double figures in scoring.
OC will host No. 16-ranked Southern Nazarene on Thursday in an early season SAC showdown.
