LUBBOCK, Texas (Jan. 24, 2009) – No. 21 Oklahoma Christian University completed a two-game road sweep of the Sooner Athletic Conference's Texas members with a 66-60 win at Lubbock Christian University (Texas) on Saturday afternoon.
The last time Oklahoma Christian swept its Texas road trip was during the 1997-98 season when the Eagles beat Wayland Baptist (Texas) 71-64 and Lubbock Christian 83-81. The Eagles improved to 15-4 overall and 8-3 in the SAC. The win was OC's fifth straight.
Jason Taylor had a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Oklahoma Christian. The double-double was Taylor's eighth of the season. Taylor was 9-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Jeff Crocker added 15 points and three assists for the Eagles, while transfer Michael Hill scored seven points.
OC and LCU exchanged four leads in the first five minutes before a 14-5 Eagle run put OC on top. Taylor scored seven points in the rally, and when David Jackson sunk a three pointer with 8:18 on the clock, the Eagles were up 22-14.
Moments later, LCU used an 8-0 burst to reclaim the lead. Jacob Klockenga scored inside for the Chaparrals to make it 25-24 with 3:08 left until halftime.
But then Crocker found his shooting touch, and scored every point in a 10-1 half-closing run by OC. He opened the jaunt with a three in the corner with 2:33 showing, then after two floating layups inside, the sophomore dropped another triple to put the Eagles up 34-26, a score that held until halftime.
The Eagles made 50 percent (12-of-24) of their first-half shots, including a 5-of-10 clip from three-point range.
OC went up by double digits just 1:17 in the second half when Taylor was fouled while scoring to make it 37-26. Just two minutes later, LCU was back within three points (37-34) when Tyler Hill sunk a trey.
But Crocker swished another triple on the other end, and the Eagles rebuilt a 10-point lead (50-40) by the 10:08 mark when Jon Jonsson tipped in two points.
OC kept LCU at an arm's length before another Chaparral charge got the home team back within three points. This time, LCU went on a 9-2 run that culminated with a Klockenga score at 5:15 that made it 52-49.
But OC stomped out any hope LCU had of taking the lead by scoring the game's next nine points. With 2:25 remaining, Kyle Tefft put an exclamation point on the run when he drilled a three in the corner off a Sam Stephens dish to put OC up by double digits again at 61-49.
With one minute left, OC was up 63-53 after Taylor hit two foul shots. But the pesky Chaparrals went on a rapid 7-0 run, and were within three points when Douglas Williams buried a trey with 20 seconds left.
But after breaking a full-court LCU press, Crocker bounced a passed to Chad Endres in transition, who scored while being intentionally fouled to give OC a 66-60 game-clinching lead.
The Eagles made 23-of-49 shots in the win for 47 percent. They also hit 7-of-15 from three-point land, also equaling 47 percent.
OC returns to action on Jan. 29 vs. St. Gregory's inside the Eagles' Nest at 8 p.m.
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