Box Score GOODWELL, Okla. (Feb. 7, 2015) – A simple lineup change helped Oklahoma Christian post what can only be called an historic win on Saturday afternoon at Oscar Williams Field House.
With backcourt mates
Elijah Strickland and
Jordan Box switching positions, that helped opened the door for a dominant day for OC's inside duo of
John Moon and
Eric Randall. Moon scored a career-high 32 points to go with 12 rebounds and Randall added career highs with 29 points and 15 rebounds as the Eagles routed Oklahoma Panhandle State 104-71.
Not only did OC (4-16, 2-12 Heartland Conference) end a seven-game losing streak, the Eagles avenged a loss to Panhandle State (3-19, 1-13) from earlier this season.
The 33-point margin of victory was OC's biggest in a Heartland Conference game since joining the NCAA Division II league with the 2012-13 season, surpassing a 20-point win earlier this season over Lubbock Christian (Texas). It was OC's largest margin of victory in any league game since Feb. 25, 2006, when the Eagles beat crosstown rival Oklahoma City University 88-51 in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup.
It was OC's most lopsided win since Dec. 3, 2013, when the Eagles beat Dallas Christian (Texas) 90-43.
OC reached the 100-point mark for the first time since a 106-95 win over York (Neb.) in the 2013-14 season opener – a span of 46 games – and the Eagles' point total was their highest since that game.
When was the last time the Eagles won by 33 or more points on the road? OC's electronic records go back to the 2003-04 season and since then, there hasn't been a comparable road win.
"These guys have really worked hard," Hays said. "Believe me, if you had told me we were going to score 100 points, I'd have told you you were crazy. But John and Eric were fantastic and the guys followed the game plan –a very simple game plan – to a T. And the perimeter guys started knocking shots down. That's what we've missed."
Hays moved Strickland to point guard and Box to shooting guard, and both responded well. Box actually recorded a career-high six assists to go with 12 points, while Strickland also had 12 points and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in four attempts.
"Elijah just did a beautiful job of doing what we wanted done from that position," Hays said.
The Eagles went inside to Moon and Randall early and often and never trailed. The duo combined to score OC's first 15 points.
Panhandle State pulled within 30-26 after a basket with 7:50 left in the first half by Antonio Manns Jr., who led the Aggies with 22 points. A 3-pointer by
Jordan Rutherford ignited a 14-0 run by OC that included two three-point plays by Moon. When Moon scored from underneath at the 5:42 mark, OC led 43-26 and the Aggies never cut the margin below double digits after that.
OC led 57-37 at halftime – the Eagles' highest-scoring half of the season – and scored the first 10 points of the second half for good measure, with Randall and Box each contributing a 3-pointer.
After that, it was just a matter of seeing how big OC's lead could grow. It eventually reached 41 points before a brief flurry by Panhandle State in the final two minutes.
Moon threatened OC's single-game field-goal percentage record (92.3 percent, held by Will Reinke) before missing his final two shots to finish 12-of-15. He also went 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Randall was 11-of-18 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He matched his career rebounding high, set way back in November 2011 against Central Bible (Mo.).
When Moon and Randall left the game with 4:14 left, they had as many points combined (61) as did the Aggies at that point. They also helped OC post a whopping 53-34 edge in rebounding.
"We knew we had an advantage inside, for sure, and our guards did a fantastic job of just getting the ball inside and helping us exploit that," Randall said. "Coach Hays talked about pushing it up the court a lot more this game and that we're just kind of sitting back and walking it up. That helped a lot, getting it down quick and getting it inside early, especially John. He got a lot of early post touches that way."
Jared Straight, with 14 points, was the only other Panhandle State player to reach double figures. The Aggies shot 26.8 percent from the field (22 of 82) and 21.3 percent from 3-point range (10 of 47). By comparison, OC shot a season-best 57.8 percent from the field (37 of 64) and 50 percent from 3-point range (9 of 18).
"It was a really, really good job of just concentrating and following the game plan and it just feels good," Hays said. "Have we arrived? Are we there? I don't know. … I told you all along I liked these guys. These are a great bunch of guys. Thanks for hanging with us – it feels good to finally get one."
OC will be on the road again next Thursday, visiting league rival Newman (Kan.).