Box score
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Jan. 31, 2008) – No. 7 Oklahoma City narrowly escaped the Eagles' Nest with a 59-56 win over Oklahoma Christian on Thursday night.
OC led by one with 2:27 to play, but a late 7-0 run by the Stars made the difference.
The win was OCU's fifth straight and upped their record to 10-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference play and 14-5 overall. OC fell to 4-9 in the SAC and 7-13 overall.
OCU led for the game's first nine minutes. The Stars never led by more than five though and Marlon Word's long two-pointer put the Eagles up 15-13 with 10:55 left in the half.
Kyle Tefft scored on the baseline 38 seconds later to extend OC's lead to four.
A quick score from Kameron Gray and a three-pointer by Willie Irick put OCU back on top 18-17 over the next three minutes.
The action saw a pair of lead changes and two ties the rest of the half. David Jackson and Irick exchanged three's at the 2:09 and 1:53 marks to leave OCU up 27-25.
In the stanza's closing seconds, Chad Endres collected a long rebound and nailed a turn-around jumper to send the game to a 27-27 halftime tie.
The Eagles started the second half with a 5-0 run. Jackson nailed a three from the wing 47 seconds in and Kyle Tefft scored on a reverse layup to put OC up 32-27 with 17:22 to play.
The Stars answered right back with a 7-0 run of their own. Irick got it going with a triple and scores from Ollie Bailey and Na'Vonta Kentle shot the Stars back ahead 34-32 at the 15:57 mark.
The Eagle defense stiffened from there and did not allow a Star field goal over the next seven-plus minutes.
OC took advantage and went on a 13-2 run to take a nine-point edge.
John Powell and Jackson ignited the run with two jumpers at 15:26 and 13:00 to put OC up 36-34. After two free throws from Irick, the Eagles rattled off nine unanswered.
Taylor scored five points in the jaunt and Jon Jonsson added four more on a putback and layup. Taylor's score at the 9:13 point extended OC's lead to 43-36. Jonsson then dropped two on a textbook back-door cut to make it 45-36 with 8:33 left.
The game's seesaw pace then saw the Stars go on a 10-0 rally. Jason Arbet's score with 5:38 left gave OCU just its second lead of the half at 46-45.
The Stars took the edge to four points, before Tefft scored in transition off a Jeff Crocker pass to cut it to 50-48 with 3:20 left to decide it.
Crocker took a charge on the defensive end, then Taylor hit 1-of-2 charity tosses to bring the Eagles within one with 2:27 on the clock.
But an Irick putback and a fast-break score from Jackson lifted OCU on top 54-49 by the 1:45 mark.
OC made it interesting with a 7-2 run in the final 12 seconds, but the Stars squeaked by 59-56.
The loss came exactly one week after OC fell to No. 12 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 95-84 in overtime in another back-and-forth thriller.
Taylor and Jackson led OC with 14 points apiece. Taylor added 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year. Tefft added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Irick led all scorers with 20 points while snatching eight rebounds.
The loss was OC's 11th in its last 14 meetings with OCU. The Eagles last win over the Stars came in an 88-51 walloping in 2006.
OC's next game is Saturday night at SAC newcomer Mid-America Christian (Okla.). Both the Eagles (10-0) and Lady Eagles (4-0) have never lost to MACU. Game time is set for 6 p.m. on the women's side and 8 p.m. for the men.
