SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (Feb. 21, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian University won for the fifth time in six games Thursday, grinding out a 59-50 victory at John Brown (Ark.).
The Eagles forced 22 turnovers as they improved to 9-10 in Sooner Athletic Conference play and 12-14 overall. John Brown fell to 2-16 and 9-17.
"This was a tremendous defensive effort, just outstanding," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "I'm so pleased with how our guys played. It was really, really good to go on the road and get this one."
With the temperature hovering around 32 degrees outside the Murray Sells Gymnasium, OC and JBU were both ice cold early on. The teams combined to make just eight of their 27 shots in the first 13:30 of the game.
OC made just three field goals in that span, all coming from beyond the arc on two Jason Taylor treys and a Jeff Crocker three-pointer.
Despite their cold start, the Eagles trailed just 13-12, and Kyle Tefft's two free throws for a 14-13 lead jumpstarted a 10-2 OC run. Tefft followed with a pair of three-pointers and Taylor added a putback score as the Eagles jumped out to a 22-15 advantage.
OC went scoreless over the final 3:35 of the half, though, and five points from Wes Brown cut the Eagles' lead to 22-20 at halftime.
John Brown quickly tied the game after the break at 25-all on a Davaughn Jackson basket and Cody Page three-pointer. It remained tight for the next five minutes until a 9-3 run pushed OC's lead from 40-37 to 49-40.
That spurt gave the Eagles the breathing room they needed. Another Page trey pulled the Golden Eagles within 49-44 with 4:28 left, but that was as close as JBU would get the rest of the way.
Taylor led OC with 21 points and six rebounds. Tefft (13 points), Crocker (10 points) and David Jackson (nine points) rounded out a balanced effort for the Eagles.
Page (12 points), Brown (11) and Jackson (10) paced the homestanding Golden Eagles.
Oklahoma Christian returns to the court Saturday at home against Rogers State (Okla.). The game tips off at 8 p.m. following the 6 p.m. women's game.
