Brandon Troutman went 3-of-4 from 3-point range and scored 13 points in OC's 71-56 win at John Brown (Ark.) on Saturday.
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (Jan. 14, 2012) – Willie Harper ignited a 25-4 run in the second half with three 3-pointers and Oklahoma Christian snapped a three-game losing streak, beating John Brown (Ark.) 71-56 on Saturday at Bill George Arena.
OC (11-6, 5-5 Sooner Athletic Conference) had lost its three previous games by a combined seven points and trailed John Brown (13-5, 5-5) by nine points with 16:30 left before Harper, a freshman, started the game-deciding run with one of his 3-pointers.
By the time the run ended on a put-back by Will Reinke with 5:49 left, the Eagles led 57-45 and John Brown came no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
"This was the toughest, hardest win we've had in a while," OC coach Dan Hays said. "We just lost three games by a total of seven points, then we go on the road and play like that. This might be the turnaround. That second half was as good of a second half as we've played all year long."
The 6-foot-10 Reinke scored 13 points and dominated the boards, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds. Brandon Troutman hit 3-of-4 3-point shots and scored 13 points and Harper scored all 11 of his points during the big run. Eric Randall added 10 points and Kendre Talley had eight points and eight assists for the Eagles.
Coleson Rakestraw led John Brown with 16 points, but OC's Devan White – playing on an injured ankle – held Rakestraw in check after Rakestraw hit four 3-pointers in the opening minutes.
"I didn't think he'd play," Hays said of White. "What a great warrior. What a great job by Devan. That's the difference. Devan is our team leader. Even when he wasn't in the game, he was leading."
John Brown led 32-30 at halftime and the Golden Eagles extended that margin to 41-32 on a basket by Adrian Miller at the 16:30 mark, but they managed only two field goals during the next 11 minutes.
OC went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line (84.6 percent) after missing 10 free throws in its two most recent games, losses to USAO and Rogers State. The Eagles shot 46.4 percent from the field (26 of 56) while limiting John Brown to 30.9 percent (17 of 55).
The Eagles will return to action on Thursday, when they host St. Gregory's.
