Box Score AUSTIN, Texas (Dec. 19, 2015) – Things looked to be going swimmingly for Oklahoma Christian early in the second half on Saturday afternoon at St. Edward's (Texas).
The Eagles were shooting well and had rallied from a halftime deficit to take a two-point lead with 15:52 left. Then it all fell apart. St. Edward's went on a 16-2 run to regain control and held off OC 90-77 in a hard-fought game at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
OC (3-6, 0-1 Heartland Conference) lost despite shooting a season-high 60 percent (30 of 50) from the field. St. Edward's (9-1, 2-0), ranked seventh in the South Central Region, needed to shoot a solid 50.7 percent (34 of 67) to put away the Eagles.
The Eagles did a lot of things right – in addition to outshooting the Hilltoppers, they also posted a 34-27 edge in rebounding. But OC didn't take care of the ball, as evidenced by its 23 turnovers – 15 more than St. Edward's committed. Those extra possessions for the Hilltoppers proved to be the difference.
OC kept the game close early on and took its first lead at 25-22 on a 3-pointer by
Daniel Eibel midway through the first half.
Elijah Strickland, who scored 16 points, followed with a layup to give OC its largest advantage, but the Hilltoppers rallied and led 45-40 at halftime after a buzzer-beating layup by Quinton Lilley.
Strickland's jumper with 15:52 left put OC up 50-48, but the Eagles had turnovers on five of their next seven possessions, leading to the big run by St. Edward's. Frankie Mgbolu's layup with 12:13 left put the Hilltoppers ahead 64-52.
Eventually, St. Edward's stretched its lead to as many as 22 points before a late rally by the Eagles. Ramir Burton scored 20 points to lead the Hilltoppers, while Mgbolu had 17 points and seven assists and Trey Lindsey and John Gramlich added 12 points each.
John Moon led OC with 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and eight rebounds, while
Chiza Ntirata added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.
OC will be off until Dec. 31, when the Eagles will host Heartland rival Texas A&M International.
