Box score
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Feb. 14, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian narrowly lost 70-65 to No. 18 Wayland Baptist University (Texas) Thursday night inside the Eagles' Nest.
The defeat snapped OC's three-game win streak and took the Eagles' overall record to 10-14 and Sooner Athletic Conference tally to 7-10. Wayland Baptist moved to 16-8 and 12-5.
WBU used an early 7-0 run to take an 11-5 edge by the 14:32 mark on Thursday. The Eagles got right back in the game with the three-ball though.
Two triples from Jeff Crocker and another from Kyle Tefft helped OC to a 14-13 edge with 12:32 left until halftime.
The Pioneers responded with a 10-2 run. WBU led 23-16 at 9:15, but the Eagles came right back with an 9-2 rally of their own.
Taylor's fast-break basket at the 5:21 mark capped the charge and trimmed WBU's lead to 25-24.
WBU jumped back out by seven, then OC stormed to the break with an 11-0 run. Tefft gave the Eagles the lead at 33-31 with 1:06 left on a three-pointer. Taylor then scored with :01.4 left to give OC a 35-31 halftime lead.
Tefft and Taylor each had 12 points at the break.
The Pioneers cut the lead to 37-36 on Lee Berend's three-pointer just over a minute into the second half. But seven consecutive OC points followed.
John Powell gave OC its biggest lead of the night at 44-36 when he scored off the glass with 16:55 left in the game.
The Pioneers were far from done however. WBU rattled off a 13-2 run to regain the advantage. Tony Jones scored in the lane with 10:47 on the clock to give the Pioneers' their first lead since the 2:44 mark of the first half.
1:30 later, Powell again tied the game at 49-49 with a triple in the corner. Another tie and two lead changes followed before WBU used an 11-0 run to assume a 63-53 edge by the 4:00 mark.
OC chipped away with a Taylor bucket and two Tefft charity tosses in the next minute to cut the deficit to 63-57.
A David Jackson mid-range jumper at 1:15 brought the Eagles even closer at 65-61.
Then on the defensive end, Taylor snatched a Pioneer pass and was immediately fouled. The sophomore sunk both one-and-one free throws to make it a two-point game with 1:03 to play.
Danny Storey got loose on the other end and laid home an uncontested basket to give the Pioneers a 67-63 edge.
Two more Tefft foul shots again slimmed WBU's lead to two points. Then Storey connected on 1-of-2 with :25.8 left to set up OC's final posession.
But Tefft could only manage a guarded three-pointer on the other end. The shot grazed the front-rim and fell into the hands of Berend. Two charity tosses from Berend sealed the five-point Pioneer win.
Tefft led the Eagles with 19 points on 9-of-10 free-throw shooting. Taylor added 16 points and five rebounds. Crocker (11 points) and Jackson (10 points) also reached double figures.
Storey paced WBU with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday against Lubbock Christian (Texas) at 3 p.m. The contest is game two of a women's/men's doubleheader. The Lady Eagles take on the Lady Chaparrals at 1 p.m.
