Box Score

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Nov. 29, 2007) - - Oklahoma Christian University fell to Science and Arts of Oklahoma 70-62 Thursday to open the 2007-2008 Sooner Athletic Conference season.

The loss drops OC to 3-5 on the year and 0-1 in league play.

Two minutes into the game, OC took its first lead at 5-2 on a Kyle Tefft three pointer. The Eagles steadily built the lead to its largest at 12-5 when Jeff Crocker fired a bounce pass to a cutting Tefft at the 14:46 mark.

USAO clawed back though, and claimed a 15-14 lead off a Tim Nelson triple at 13:25. OC held the USAO lead under seven through the first half before the Drovers took a 30-27 edge to intermission.

Just 36 seconds into the second half, a Sam Stephens basket brought OC to within one at 30-29. The Eagles and Drovers swapped scores with OC's Jason Taylor again cutting the lead to one at the 18:14 mark.

USAO upped the lead to 43-34 with another Nelson three at the 12:45 mark. The Eagles narrowed the gap to 51-47 with a Taylor basket at 7:50, but were unable to get any closer.

The Drovers shot 60 percent from the field in the second half en route to the eight-point win.

Taylor led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting. The sophomore collected a team-high seven rebounds.

Tefft scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with a pair of steals. Crocker added seven points and four assists.

Nelson led USAO with 17 points thanks to a 5-of-8 effort from behind the arc.

OC faces SAC rival Southern Nazarene (Okla.) on Saturday in Bethany. Game time is set for 8 p.m.