Will Reinke recorded his ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but OC fell 77-74 at No. 6 Rogers State on Saturday.
CLAREMORE, Okla. (Feb. 11, 2012) – Larry Cox hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.3 seconds left, allowing No. 6 Rogers State to escape with a 77-74 win over Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at the Claremore Expo Center.
OC (15-10 overall, 9-9 Sooner Athletic Conference) had rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 2:15, but instead suffered its fifth loss by three points or less during conference play, four of those to ranked foes and the other to a team receiving votes in the NAIA Division I poll. The Eagles lost both their games this season to Rogers State on baskets in the final seconds.
"We played very well," OC coach Dan Hays said. "We just needed to get a bounce late. They just made a play. (Cox) is not a 3-point shooter and we were all over him.
"Our guys played great. It's kind of been the story of what's going on. Here's a top-five team and we've got them on the ropes at their place late, and they just made big plays late. I'm sorry it didn't work out for us. It's tough for our guys to keep having to bounce back from this, but hopefully we'll keep working."
Trailing 74-72, the Eagles came up with three offensive rebounds on their next-to-last possession. Will Reinke, in the middle of a mass of players, tipped in a miss by Devan White with 52.8 seconds left, but officials waved off the basket and ruled Reinke had been fouled on the floor. Reinke, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds, made both free throws to tie the game.
At the other end, Kendrell Thompson missed a 3-point attempt for the Hillcats, but Maurice Rutherford corralled the offensive rebound. Rogers State (20-4, 13-4) couldn't find an open shot against OC's defense and Cox – who had made only six 3-pointers all season to that point – shot from the top of the key with the clock running down.
Kendre Talley drove the length of the floor and missed an off-balance 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Eagles.
"There are no moral victories," Hays said. "We came up here to win and didn't get it done. Rogers made the plays down the stretch. We made the plays down the stretch. I don't know how Reinke's last basket doesn't count. They say he's on the floor. It looked to me like he tipped the ball. Who am I to say? That's just the way that things have gone. We're just going to keep working."
The Hillcats finished 9-of-18 from 3-point range, with Thompson going 3-for-5 and Cox, Alex Ewings and Donald Williams each sinking two treys. Rogers State shot 50.9 percent from the field (28 of 55), compared to 47.1 percent for the Eagles (24 of 51), but OC countered with stellar ball control, committing only seven turnovers.
Rogers State led by as many as nine points in the first half before OC closed the gap to 39-36 by halftime. The Eagles scored the first six points of the second half to take the lead and the game see-sawed from that point.
The Eagles led 63-57 after Talley hit two free throws with 8:46 left, but a 17-5 run by Rogers State gave the Hillcats a 74-68 lead. Ewings capped that rally with a put-back with 2:30 left.
Eric Randall and Talley each hit a pair of free throws for the Eagles before Reinke's pair in the final minute tied the game. OC shot 23-of-28 from the line (82.1 percent) compared to 10-of-16 for the Hillcats (60 percent).
Reinke finished 7-of-7 from the field, including his first 3-pointer of the season, en route to his ninth double-double of the season. White scored 14 points for OC while Randall added 11.
Thompson scored 17 points to lead the Hillcats, while Williams had 16, Cox had 14 and Ewings had 11.
OC will host USAO on Thursday before closing the regular season with three straight road games.
