OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Nov. 22, 2010) – Northwestern Oklahoma State University slipped away from the Oklahoma Christian men's basketball team on Monday night in overtime with a 76-67 defeat over the Eagles in the Nest.
The Eagles only trailed the Rangers for a short time during the first period when a couple of OC turnovers led to a three-point deficit in the first few minutes of the game.
OC quickly rebounded, however, as they worked their way to a 15-point lead by the end of the half. Will Reinke was the Eagles' go to man as he scored time and time again in traffic as he registered 17 points during the first period.
The Eagles gained a 12-point advantage, their highest of the period, with 4:44 left on the game clock. Despite retaliations from the Northwestern men, the continued to hold at least a ten point lead into halftime. As the buzzer rang for the half, Jeff Crocker tacked on three points to the Eagle board with a long shot to give OC the 15-point advantage as they headed to the locker rooms.
The second half continued to see a potent Eagle squad as OC held the Rangers at bay and created a 16-point deficit for NWOSU, their largest of the game, with 13:23 still left to play.
An aggressive Ranger squad, however, retaliated with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to just nine points for the Eagles. From there NWOSU's defense continued to cause turnovers for OC, the Eagles had 27 in all, as they cut the margin to just three points with 1:16 left in regulation.
Reinke stretched the lead back to five quickly thereafter before two baskets from the Rangers tied things up with 20 seconds left on the clock. A failed attempt to score from the Eagles left the game to overtime.
Further turnovers and an inability to score by the Eagles left the game to the Rangers as they put up 16 points to OC's seven to take the win at 76-67.
Despite the loss, Reinke was on fire during the game as he scored 27 points going 13 for 16 from the field. Additionally, Reinke grabbed eight boards and made three blocks during the game.
Crocker added another 16 points to the total with an additional eight assists and five rebounds while Andre Vaughn helped out with 11 points of his own and five rebounds before fouling out in overtime.
Chad Endres helped the Eagles control the ball with eight rebounds and five assists in addition to scoring five points.
The loss leaves the Eagles at 4-2 on the season and a 0-1 start to conference play. The OC men will join the women's team in a road double header against John Brown University (Ark.) on Thursday, Dec. 2. The women will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men scheduled to follow at 8 p.m.
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