Box score
OC-USAO hoops highlights
LUBBOCK, Texas (March 6, 2009) – Oklahoma Christian University fell 84-79 in overtime to Science and Arts of Oklahoma in the semifinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday night.
The game was as exciting as the Eagles have played all season, and the most dramatic play came when Jason Taylor scored off a full-court baseball inbounds pass from Chad Endres with under five seconds left to tie it at 70-70.
But USAO started the extra period on a 9-0 run, and the Drovers never trailed. OC pulled within three points (79-76) on two Taylor free throws at the 56-second mark, then Jeff Crocker sunk a trey with 36 seconds remaining to make it 81-79. But USAO made 4-of-4 free throws the rest of the way to hold off OC's rally.
Friday's loss breaks the Eagles' seven-game win streak and takes them to 23-9 on the season.
The Eagles will find out on Wednesday whether they're included in the 32-team NAIA National Tournament. OC should finish in contention for an at-large national bid as the third-place team in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
"I'm real proud of our guys, we didn't play great all game, but we made some huge plays late to stay in it," OC head coach Dan Hays said. "We executed well all game, but we just didn't make enough shots. Give USAO a lot of credit though, Coach McPherson did a marvelous job preparing his team."
Including Taylor's end-of-regulation bucket, the Eagles made four game-tying hoops (three on three pointers) down the stretch of the game, but OC had only one lead in the game.
The only lead came when Tefft swished a three-pointer 53 seconds into the second half to make it 35-32. But the Drovers went back up by six (47-41) by the 13:20 point.
OC pulled within two points (49-47) with two David Jackson foul shots at the 11:45 mark of the second half, before getting even at the 8:17 mark when Kyle Tefft hit from downtown to lock it at 56-56.
USAO answered right back with an Adam Shoffit triple, and the Drovers stayed on top for the next five-plus minutes before Tefft tied it again (64-64) with a three at the 3:01 point.
The Drovers built a 68-65 lead with under a minute to play. Then it was David Jackson's turn to tie the score, and the Tulsa, Okla., product rattled in a trey from the top of the key to make it 68-68 with 13 seconds to play.
After a timeout, the Drovers found big man Eli Flores who converted a go-ahead layup (70-68) with only nine seconds remaining.
But the Eagles still weren't done with their game-tying dramatics, and the Endres-to-Taylor play came next. The Drovers' wild game-winning shot attempt missed, and the game went to overtime.
USAO's Tim Nelson hit four triples in the first four minutes of the game to help USAO jump out to a 12-4 lead in the first half. The eight-point lead would be the Drovers' largest though, and the Eagles began gradually chipping away.
OC pulled even when Jackson and Tefft hit threes on back-to-back possessions to tie the contest at 30-30 with two minutes left in the half. Allen Harris lifted USAO back on top 32-30 with a score at the 1:10 mark, but Jeff Crocker found Lionel Saban for a buzzer-beating jumper to tie the game 32-32 at intermission
Taylor led OC in scoring with 24 points, while Tefft had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jackson finished with 15 points and Crocker scored 10.
Nelson led all scorers with 28 points on 8-of-12 three-point shooting and Jamaal McCoy had 20 for the Drovers (15-16).
The Drovers made 12-of-32 (38 percent) three-pointers in the game, and OC hit 10-of-32 from behind the arc.
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