Box Score DALLAS (Jan. 16, 2016) – It wasn't hard to figure out how Dallas Baptist (Texas) beat Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon – just look at 3-point shooting.
The Patriots, coming off a five-day break, went 15-of-32 from behind the arc and rolled to a 95-60 win over OC at the Burg Center, capping a portion of the OC men's basketball schedule that had the Eagles playing five Heartland Conference road games in 10 days in three states.
OC coach
Dan Hays said the fatigue of all that conference travel in such a short span caught up with the Eagles, who shot only 35 percent (21 of 60) from the field and 15 percent (3 of 20) from 3-point range.
"We're just tired," Hays said. "There's nobody who could have gone through what we've gone through (and succeeded). It hit us today. We're in Guymon, Okla., last Thursday. Last Saturday we're in Lubbock. Last Monday we're in Odessa – three hotels in four nights. We got in Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. We go to Wichita Thursday night and come here Saturday afternoon.
"It's just the absolute worst-scheduled trip that I've ever been on in 48 years (of coaching.) We fought through it a little bit Thursday and played pretty well at Newman, but a lot of our guys were just dead-legged. … It's just been a tough trip."
OC (4-12, 1-7 Heartland) picked up 19 points from center
John Moon, who also blocked three shots to extend his streak of games with at least one block to 41.
Cameron Peters tied his career high with 14 points and
Deric Shelton started and scored 10 points for the Eagles.
But DBU (11-4, 5-2) had four players in double figures, including Joey Miller, who went 8-of-9 from the field and scored 19 points. Shannon Lilly had 18 points and seven rebounds and Amari Bryant added 15 points and five assists for the Patriots, who won their fifth straight – their longest winning streak in five seasons.
Seven Dallas Baptist players recorded at least one 3-pointer as the Patriots shot 53.8 percent (35 of 65) from the field overall.
OC led 5-3 after a layup by
Zach Norris just 73 seconds into the game, but didn't score again for eight minutes, missing 10 shots during that span. That allowed Dallas Baptist to build a 16-5 lead.
The Eagles remained within striking distance for awhile, trailing 43-32 at halftime and 52-40 after a basket by
Chiza Ntirata with 14:38 left, but Dallas Baptist scored the next 12 points to extend its advantage past 20 points. A 15-0 run by the Patriots in the final minutes swelled their lead even more.
Eight of OC's final 12 games will be at home, starting on Thursday against Arkansas-Fort Smith.