Box score
PLAINVIEW, Texas (Jan. 12, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian lost for the seventh time in its last nine games Saturday, falling 71-61 to Wayland Baptist in Sooner Athletic Conference play.
"We played a poor second half and lost our composure," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "We didn't execute, which is discouraging. It was a good effort, but a road trip like this is tough on a young team."
OC and WBU each held two leads in the game's opening four minutes before a 9-2 Pioneer run propelled WBU to a 13-7 edge with 11:35 left.
OC fought back and tied the score at 19-19 with 8:23 left off a conventional three-point play from Kyle Tefft and a three from Marlon Word.
OC took the lead at 6:22 on another Tefft score and upped the advantage to 28-24 on Jeff Crocker's second-chance three-pointer 26 seconds later.
The Eagles moved the lead to 34-26 by the 3:45 mark when Tefft delivered from long range.
The Pioneers closed the half on an 8-0 scoring run to tie the score at 34-34 at intermission.
OC shot out of the gates in the second stanza's opening 1:46, forcing three WBU turnovers and converting them to six quick points from Jason Taylor. Taylor's easy transition bucket off a Tefft steal put the Eagles up 40-34.
A David Jackson triple at the 16:36 mark upped OC's lead to 43-36.
But WBU answered with a 10-2 charge. Danny Storey's conventional three-point play at the 14:54 mark tied the score, and another basket from Storey gave the Pioneers their first lead of the second half 50 seconds later.
The action saw two lead changes before another WBU scoring jaunt put the Pioneers on top. This time, WBU went on a 12-0 charge to take an 11-point lead with 4:37 left.
The teams traded buckets until a Jackson trey with 1:55 left cut the deficit to 63-55. Jeff Crocker hit for three at the 1:09 mark to bring the Eagles within six.
But the Pioneers' 4-of-6 foul shooting down the stretch was enough, as WBU took the 10-point win.
Tefft led OC with 18 points while Taylor poured in 15 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Jackson added 14 on 4-of-10 three-point shooting. Storey paced WBU with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The Eagles will travel to Claremore, Okla., Thursday for their first-ever meeting with SAC newcomer Rogers State. The start time is slated for 8 p.m.
