OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 18, 2014) – Eight days ago, Oklahoma Christian's season appeared to be nearly sunk. But a three-game winning streak has given the Eagles a whole new attitude.
OC played perhaps its best half this season in the first half on Saturday afternoon against Newman (Kan.), extended its lead to 26 points in the second half, then held on down the stretch to beat the Jets 85-76 in the Eagles' Nest.
OC (7-8, 3-4 Heartland Conference) did so without starting guard Willie Harper, who sat out the game due to what coach Dan Hays said was a violation of a team rule. Freshman Deric Shelton received his first career start and responded with a clutch 14-point outing, making his final five shots and keeping the Eagles afloat late after Newman (5-11, 2-6) made a huge run.
Nick Tate went 4 of 4 from 3-point range and scored 20 points for OC, while Kendre Talley had 15 points and seven assists, John Moon had 13 points and Jordan Rutherford and Jordan VanDeKop had nine each and VanDeKop added a career-high 11 rebounds.
The Eagles shot 50.8 percent from the field (30 of 59), 45 percent from behind the arc (9 of 20) and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line (16 of 18) while outrebounding Newman 38-28.
"I thought we were outstanding (in the first half)," Hays said. "I thought our intensity was off the charts and then we came out in the second half and I thought we played very hard, also, but then at some point in time, they hit a couple of shots and we deflated a little bit and just kind of hung on. You see that happen a lot in basketball, where you just don't sustain it with a big lead. Frankly, we haven't had a lead like that in a long time."
The Eagles trailed only once, at 5-4 in the opening minutes. OC seized control with a 15-2 run and kept pulling away for the game's first 28½ minutes.
Officials called two technical fouls on Newman in the first half, one on Elhad Emerllahu and another on coach Mark Potter, but nothing seemed to slow OC's momentum. The Eagles led 49-27 at halftime and built that margin to 66-40 after a basket by Talley with 11:30 left.
The Jets came flying back into the game with a 14-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Ryan McCarthy, Marquis Cuyler and Trae Beck. Shelton broke OC's 4½-minute dry spell with a 3-pointer, then a put-back, but consecutive 3-pointers from Emerellahu and Beck pulled Newman within 71-60 with 4:44 left.
Shelton hit another 3-pointer and Tate followed with a bucket to restore OC's lead to 16 points. Newman came as close as eight points three times in the final 50 seconds but couldn't close the gap.
"Deric is a terrific offensive player," Hays said. "He's developing. He's going to be a player for the future. He was a little tight the first half, but actually, the shots he took the first half were great shots. I told him at halftime to just relax and have some fun and he did."
Jeremy Espinoza led Newman with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five steals and Emerllahu added 13 points. McCarthy scored 11 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting and Cuyler added 10.
It was OC's first win over Newman since joining the Heartland Conference, as the Jets swept the Eagles last season. OC leads the all-time series 7-4.
OC will host conference-leading Texas A&M International on Thursday and second-place St. Mary's (Texas) on Saturday.
"They're two of the heavy hitters in this league," Hays said. "We're going to need some help Thursday night. I can tell you that right now. We need an old-school Eagles' Nest Thursday night. Hopefully we can get some people out here and get behind these guys."
