Box Score FORT SMITH, Ark. (Jan. 24, 2015) – When the opposing basketball team sets a program record with 17 3-pointers, there's not a whole lot that can be done. That was the unenviable situation in which Oklahoma Christian found itself on Saturday afternoon.
Led by Alex Cooper and Seth Youngblood, who combined for 11 3-pointers and 50 points, Arkansas-Fort Smith shot 43.6 percent from behind the arc and beat the visiting Eagles 88-58 at the Stubblefield Center.
Seven-foot center
John Moon just missed a double-double for OC (3-13, 1-9 Heartland Conference) with 21 points and nine rebounds. But UAFS (10-8, 6-4) simply had too much firepower for the Eagles to make a game of it, especially considering the Lions enjoyed a 41-29 advantage in rebounding.
"We're playing too much zone defense," OC coach
Dan Hays said. "It had been good to us – we were the No. 1 defensive team in the league in (field-goal) percentage against until this week – but we ran into a couple of hot-shooting teams. We're going to have to make some changes.
John Moon is playing terrific. We've just got to get some guys to give him some help.
"We've got all kinds of excuses. The main thing is, we're just not playing good."
The Lions opened the game on a 13-2 run, which included two put-backs and a 3-pointer by Dusan Stojanovic, one of six UAFS players to connect from behind the arc.
UAFS built its lead to 37-14 before OC closed the first half on a 12-5 run, capped by a 3-pointer by
Casey Covalt at the buzzer that pulled the Eagles within 42-26.
The Lions led 74-41 with 11:14 left but OC answered with a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by
Elijah Strickland and
Jordan Rutherford, who finished with 11 points. Sophomore guard
Luis Lopez added a career-high seven points for OC, hitting his first two career 3-pointers.
"Luis is terrific," Hays said. "He's done a good job."
Youngblood went 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 12-of-18 from the field to finish with 29 points, while Cooper scored 21 on 6-of-9 3-point shooting. DeVaunta Thomas added 11 points and eight assists for the Lions, often penetrating the lane and kicking the ball to the open shooter. Kenny Martin had a double-double for UAFS with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
OC will host a pair of conference rivals next week – St. Mary's (Texas) on Thursday and Texas A&M International on Saturday.
