Box score
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Jan. 24, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian dropped an overtime thriller 95-84 Thursday night to No. 16 Southern Nazarene (Okla.).
Kyle Tefft dropped a career-high 28 points in the loss. The junior was 5-of-7 from three-point range and grabbed six rebounds.
OC falls to 4-7 in the Sooner Athletic Conference and 7-11 overall. SNU moves to 7-3 in league play and 13-5 overall.
"This one hurts because we had the game in our hands," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "I'll take responsibility for it, but hopefully our kids will learn from this. Give SNU credit for hitting some big shots."
Trailing by three points with two seconds to play in regulation, SNU's Brandon Durham hit a deep three-pointer to send the game into overtime locked at 80-80. SNU outscored OC 15-to-4 in the extra frame to take the 11-point win.
The energized Eagles did not lead Thursday until a Tefft triple at the 14:20 mark of the first half made it 10-9.
Over the next 10 minutes, OC buried six threes and outscored SNU 33-20. David Jackson's downtown connection gave the Eagles their largest lead at 43-29 with 3:36 left.
The Crimson Storm stuck around though and brought the lead to 47-36 at intermission off a pair of Milorad Damjanac free throws in the half's closing seconds.
OC finished the half 9-of-14 from three-point range with Tefft a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown.
A conventional three-point play from Jason Taylor took the Eagles' lead to 14 just 35 seconds into the second stanza.
SNU then went on a 7-2 run and cut the deficit to single digits at 54-45 on Tyree Scott's steal-and-score with 13:20 on the clock.
OC regained the double-digit edge, and the momentum, on the next series when Jackson stole a pass and floated home two in the lane at 12:47 to make it 56-45.
The Crimson Storm would not go away though. Durham's three-pointer at 7:16 ignited a 7-1 run that again brought the deficit under 10. Durham hit from three once again at the 5:42 mark to make it 69-65.
SNU pulled within two points three times, and one point once, before tying the score in a furious sequence down the stretch.
A pair of Damjanac free throws at 3:21 made it 72-70. SNU had a chance to tie the game on its next possession, but John Powell nabbed a steal from Earl Isaacson.
The Eagles converted the turnover into two points on Jeff Crocker's driving score at 2:41 to make it 74-70.
The Crimson Storm again made it a two-point contest on a Damjanac putback 35 seconds later. But OC executed a picture-perfect backdoor play from Tefft to Chad Endres to again go up four with 1:51 left.
After an empty series from both teams, Tefft blocked an Isaacson shot, then SNU's Brent Kimmel stole an arrant Eagle pass and scored an easy two to make it 76-74 with 26 seconds left.
Two Endres charity tosses put OC back up 78-74, but another Durham trey brought SNU to within one at 78-77 with 14 seconds on the clock.
Crocker then connected on two free throws to up OC's lead to 80-77.
With 8.1 seconds left, the Storm brought the ball the length of the court where Durham sunk an NBA-range three-pointer with two seconds left to send the game to overtime tied at 80-80.
SNU jetted into the extra frame on a 10-2 run. A long Kimmel trey with the shot clock expiring made it 90-82 with 2:34 remaining.
SNU made 5-of-6 free throws the close the game and pick up the 11-point win.
Two nights after sinking a season-high 14 three-pointers in a 74-56 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State, OC made 10-of-24 triples on Thursday. SNU finished the game 11-of-25 from downtown.
Taylor scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Crocker had 14 points and Jackson added 13 points. Powell snatched a team-best nine rebounds.
Durham paced SNU with 21 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting. Damjanac had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The loss was the Eagles' fourth-straight to the Crimson Storm. SNU beat OC 72-65 on Dec. 4 in Bethany.
The Eagles and Lady Eagles play Science and Arts Oklahoma in Chickasha on Monday. The women's game will tip at 6 p.m. with the men taking the floor at 8 p.m.
