Box Score LAREDO, Texas (Jan. 3, 2015) – It was another painful learning experience for Oklahoma Christian's young men's basketball team in a season that has already been full of them.
In a back-and-forth affair in which both teams wasted opportunities to put the other away, Texas A&M International went 9-of-9 from the free-throw line in overtime and scored the final six points to hold off the Eagles' upset bid and escape with a 63-57 win on Saturday afternoon.
John Moon had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for OC (2-8, 0-4 Heartland Conference), which had a chance to win at the end of regulation before the Dustdevils stripped the ball from OC guard
Jordan Box as he drove the lane.
The 7-foot Moon had five points in overtime, but his free throws with 2:26 left (which tied the game at 57-57) proved to be the Eagles' final points, as OC came up empty on its final four possessions.
It was the Eagles' second heartbreaker in conference play, as they also dropped a one-point decision to St. Edward's (Texas) last month on a tip-in by SEU that might or might not have come before the game-ending buzzer.
"That's all we can ask," OC coach
Dan Hays said. "I thought our kids played with great effort and great resilience. We had more guys play better. We're still not shooting the ball as well as we need to from the perimeter, but
Elijah Strickland was just terrific, so hopefully that's his coming-out party. We've just got to have more of those young guys do that."
Early on, it looked like OC might cruise against TAMIU (8-4, 3-1), as the Eagles cruised to a 9-0 lead in the opening for minutes, taking advantage of the significant height advantage provided by Moon and 6-foot-8 forward
Eric Randall.
The Dustdevils dialed up some pressure defense to take OC out of its game, making OC's guards work to bring the ball upcourt and constantly deflecting entry passes for post players. OC was able to build its lead to 18-6, but went scoreless for more than five minutes, allowing the Dustdevils to close the gap. By halftime, it was 24-24.
TAMIU took its first lead on a 3-pointer by Montrice McKnight 25 seconds into the second half and the Dustdevils extended their lead to 36-26 while OC managed only one basket during the first 8½ minutes of the half.
Strickland, a freshman guard, brought the Eagles back, fueling an 11-2 run with a basket and two free throws. A 3-pointer by Randall with 3:42 left put OC back on top, 51-50.
Anthony Alston hit two free throws with 3:01 left to put TAMIU back ahead, and those were the Dustdevils' final points of regulation. OC proved unable to take advantage of that drought, however, as the Eagles managed only one point during that stretch – on a free throw by Strickland that tied the game at 52-52. Strickland matched his career high with 14 points.
Moon won the overtime tipoff for OC, then put the Eagles ahead with a three-point play just 16 seconds later. That was the final lead for the Eagles.
Vadal Faniel answered with a three-point play of his own for TAMIU, and Alston hit two free throws to put the Dustdevils ahead. Moon's free throws with 2:26 left tied the game, but Alston made two more free throws at the 1:45 mark to give TAMIU the lead for good. McKnight and Alston each hit a pair in the final 22.4 seconds to seal the win for the Dustdevils.
Randall added 12 points for OC. Faniel led the Dustdevils with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jamie Farrie had 17 points and Alston and McKnight each had 12, with Alston adding six assists.
"We've just got to knock some shots down around (Moon)," Hays said. "But the thing we did against that pressure is we drove the ball. It's one of the first times this year we've really drove the ball and that was good to see.
"We're a work in progress. We've just got to keep working and hopefully things will work out."
OC will return to action Thursday at home against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
