OC point guard Kendre Talley had 15 points and eight assists as the Eagles beat St. Gregory's for the second time this season, winning 76-68 on Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 19, 2012) – Led by Willie Harper's 19 points, four Oklahoma Christian players scored in double figures as the Eagles finally put away pesky St. Gregory's 76-68 on Thursday night on Dan Hays Court in the Eagles' Nest.
With legendary coach Don Meyer – the NCAA's career coaching wins leader – in attendance, OC (12-6, 6-5 Sooner Athletic Conference) won its second straight game as it prepares for a showdown Saturday afternoon at No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee.
The Eagles won by 24 points at St. Gregory's the first time the teams met, on Dec. 1, but it certainly wasn't as easy the second time around against the Cavaliers (4-12, 1-9), who used a 2-3 zone defense that flummoxed OC much of the night, at least until the final minutes.
The Eagles used a 7-0 run – during which they went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line – to take a 69-63 lead with 2:33 left. OC went 5-of-6 from the line after that and essentially sealed the win on a spectacular basket by Will Reinke with 30.3 seconds left. Reinke took a lob pass from Kendre Talley and his shot rolled around the rim twice, slowly, before dropping in to put OC up 73-68.
"A week ago tonight, St. Gregory's beat Southern Nazarene, the No. 3 team in our league," OC coach Dan Hays said. "Give them some credit. When they play that 2-3 (zone defense) and they stretch it out, there's not much room. I was digging deep down in my bag of tricks to try up with something. … What a grind."
The contributions came from all over the court for OC. Harper – dubbed "The Microwave" by Hays for his ability to score off the bench, like former Detroit Pistons star Vinnie Johnson did during NBA title runs in the early 1990s – rained in 5-of-10 3-point shots, including three makes from NBA range.
"The Microwave, in the first half, my goodness – he was just throwing those shots in," Hays said. "He's got the green light if he's feeling it. He didn't hit as many in the second half, but he sure stretched the defense."
Reinke, despite missing a good chunk of the second half due to foul trouble, had 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Talley added 15 points, eight assists and four steals while Eric Randall had 10 points and six rebounds and filled in at center while Reinke was on the bench. Brandon Troutman added a couple of key 3-pointers and scored eight points.
"Eric Randall hit some key free throws and Kendre Talley was absolutely great orchestrating things in the second half, especially the last 10 minutes," Hays said.
The Eagles shot well – 52.1 percent from the field (25 of 48) and 47.4 percent from 3-point range (9 of 19). They needed that hot shooting, as St. Gregory's shot 49.1 percent (28 of 57).
OC limited St. Gregory's guard Fayzon Richey, the ninth-leading scorer in NAIA Division I and the SAC leader, to 17 points, below his 22.5-point average. Even so, Richey's dunk in the final minute of the first half gave the Cavaliers a 36-35 halftime lead, and he hit a 3-pointer with 15:09 left to give St. Gregory's its largest lead at 48-41.
The Eagles slowly chipped away and regained the lead at 60-59 with 5:50 left, on Harper's only second-half 3-pointer. Randall gave OC the lead for good at 64-63 by making two free throws with 4:01 left.
Brock Vorwald and Ron Waller each scored 12 points for St. Gregory's, while Brandon Jackson added four points and 10 assists.
