Box score
Click here to hear a postgame interview with Coach Dan Hays.
Oklahoma Christian University's men's basketball team knocked off No. 17 Oklahoma Baptist University 71-67 here Thursday night (Jan. 11) to improve to 2-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference play and 8-5 overall.
OC senior Charles Baldwin's three-pointer just 56 seconds into the contest foreshadowed things to come. Baldwin finished the half with 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc and 8-of-12 shooting overall.
OC and OBU fought through three ties and three lead changes in the opening stanza. OC took its largest lead of the half when Baldwin connected on a three at the 3:13 mark, putting the Eagles ahead 32-25. OC led 36-32 at intermission.
In the second half, Mike Fraser's dunk put OBU back on top 42-41 with 15:49 left. But OC responded when freshman Jason Taylor cleaned up his own miss at the 14:24 mark to put the Eagles ahead 44-43.
OC extended its lead to the largest of the game when Tanner Hazelbacker buried a three pointer from the top of the key at the 9:32 mark to make the score 53-45.
OBU clawed back within two at 57-55 off Julius Hurd's basket with 3:38 left. But Eagle senior Keith Harris answered with two three-pointers in a one-minute span to keep the Bison at bay.
OC converted 6-of-8 free throws in the game's closing minute to secure the 71-67 victory.
Baldwin finished with a game-high 24 points while Harris added 19, including 6-of-6 shooting from the foul stripe.
Taylor posted the first double-double of his collegiate career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Fraser, the SAC's leading rebounder, led the Bison with 18 points and 19 rebounds. OBU fell to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in SAC play.
The Eagles' and Lady Eagles' doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 13 at Northwestern Oklahoma State has been postponed due to the ice storm that hit the state on Friday. The games have been rescheduled to Monday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Unless the weather causes further postponements, OC's next games will be at USAO in Chickasha on Thursday, Jan. 18. The women's game will tip at 6 p.m., followed by the men's game at 8 p.m.
