Box Score EDMOND, Okla. (Nov. 27, 2015) – In the pantheon of Oklahoma Christian-Southern Nazarene basketball games – now spanning more than 100 meetings over 50-plus years – few individual performances on either side have been as impressive as that proffered Friday by OC's John Moon.

The Eagles' 7-foot junior center posted career highs in points (38) and blocked shots (six) while grabbing 12 rebounds. Perhaps fittingly, he hit the free throw with 1.2 seconds left that gave the Eagles a 92-91 win over SNU at Hamilton Field House in one of the rivarly's wildest games.

That's saying something, but there were plenty of spectacular performances on both sides. OC (1-3), in addition to Moon, received 17 points from senior forward Chiza Ntirata, who went 6-of-6 from the field, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range, in a record-setting effort. Point guard Elijah Strickland had 15 points while junior forward Jordan Rutherford just missed a double-double with 10 points and eight assists.

"We played good basketball," OC coach Dan Hays said. "That's a veteran, veteran team, and they had to hit a bunch of threes and we hit some threes, so it was tit-for-tat. It just so happened that we did a great job of getting the ball to John Moon and Chiza Ntirata's coming-out party … that's what we've been waiting for. It was a good team effort. We made a lot of progress in one week."

For SNU (2-3), C.J. Rodriguez poured in a career-high 33 points – the fourth-highest single-game total in the program's history – and went 7-of-8 from 3-point range. The Crimson Storm shot a sizzling 66.7 percent (10 of 15) from behind the arc in the first half and 52 percent (13 of 25) for the game.

The game included 11 lead changes and nine ties, the last at 91-91 after Rodriguez with 12.9 seconds left despite having Strickland's hand in his face.

Without a timeout, Strickland brought the ball upcourt and missed a runner in the lane, but Moon rebounded and was fouled by SNU's Francisco Hukill on a follow attempt. Initially, it appeared four-tenths of a second remained, but game officials reset the clock to 1.2 seconds.

Moon missed the first free throw, but made the second. Also without a timeout, Hukill sent a 75-foot pass to C.J. White, whose 19-foot jumper hit off the backboard and rim before falling harmlessly to the floor.

Moon was simply outstanding, finishing 13-of-22 from the field and dominating so much defensively – five of his blocks came in the first half – that the Crimson Storm hesitated challenging him for most of the second half, often looking for other options. On offense, he made his first career 3-pointer and also passed well out of the post, finishing with three assists.

"John was terrific," Hays said. "They were a little bit undersized, but were patient in getting him the ball, yet we were aggressive looking for our shots. That's the difference. We made a lot of changes in our offense these last seven or eight days that we've had and it showed, because our ball movement was much, much better."

Somewhat lost in Moon's dominance was Ntirata's perfect shooting performance. Ntirata set an OC single-game record for best 3-point shooting percentage (minimum five attempts), breaking the mark of 85.7 percent (6 of 7), set by Charles Baldwin against Oklahoma Wesleyan on Nov. 4, 2006.

SNU led by as many as nine points in the first half, going up 32-23 on Noah Starkey's basket at the 9:11 mark. OC rallied to take a 36-35 lead on a three-point play by freshman Geoffery Hightower, although SNU led 50-48 at halftime.

Moon scored five straight points to open the second half and after his basket with 19:14 left, the Eagles never again trailed. OC led by as many as eight points, at 69-61 on a basket by Moon with 12:17 left. SNU pulled even at 73-73 on a basket by Anton Kankaanpaa with 8:15 left before a 3-pointer by Rutherford and two free throws by Strickland restored the Eagles' advantage.

OC led 91-85 after Moon hit two free throws with 2:22 left, then barely fended off the Crimson Storm's final rally.

Garrett Butler added 16 points for SNU, while L.B. Willis had 13 points and seven assists and Hukill had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles will play another crosstown rival, Oklahoma City University, on Saturday in the final game of the Central Oklahoma Thanksgiving Classic for both teams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OvWNr2OlVY&feature=youtu.be