ALVA, Okla. (Nov. 23, 2009) – The Oklahoma Christian University Eagles arose the victors in a four-overtime grueling match against Northwestern Oklahoma State University, winning by only a basket 102-100.
The four-overtime game was only the third in Oklahoma Christian's history and saw nearly 20 lead changes, 13 ties, and several foul outs. A close and exciting game throughout, Jason Taylor powered the Eagles through regulation play scoring 27 points and grabbing 16 rebound before he received a game-ending blow to the head and sat out all four overtime periods.
In the first half, the lead changed several times with the Eagles finishing the half trailing by seven points despite their 52.2 field goal percentage. The Eagles maintained a 49.4 percentage throughout the game's entirety and shot 55% from behind the arc.
Jeff Crocker helped keep the Eagles in the game, nailing several important three-point shots when it mattered going three for four from behind the arc. Crocker totaled 19 points for the night and made 11 assists. Fellow guard David Jackson also hit several key three-point baskets tallying three out of five behind the arc. Jackson also pulled down six rebounds, blocked two shots, and made two assists.
The Eagles received massive help from Andre Vaughn, who netted all three of his three-point shots and came away with 15 points on the evening. Vaughn grabbed another seven boards and made three assists for the Eagles.
Redshirt freshman Devan White contributed another 12 points to the Eagles' total, pulled down eight rebounds, and made three steals throughout the game. Chad Endres continually pulled the ball down in traffic, tallying nine rebounds and scored six points.
Senior Jon Jonsson entered the game for a mere two minutes left yet put down a trey near the end of the game to put the game in the Eagles' favor.
NWOSU's Brandon Brown put up a game-high 28 points against the Eagles before he fouled out in overtime.
The Eagles improved to 5-0 for the season with their first quadruple-overtime victory ever. Bishop (Texas) beat OC 91-90 in January 1969 and Langston defeated the Eagles 107-103 in the first round of the 1988 NAIA District IX playoffs, OC's only other 4OT games on record.
The Eagles continue road play in a classic at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth over the weekend, playing Saint Thomas on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and then Dallas Christian on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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