Box Score LAREDO, Texas (Jan. 30, 2016) – Speaking to his players before Saturday afternoon's game at Texas A&M International, Oklahoma Christian coach
Dan Hays told them they were going to win.
Not many folks outside the team might have agreed with him, with TAMIU leading the Heartland Conference standings and OC tied for last place and on an eight-game losing streak. But the Eagles believed what he said, then made it happen, hanging on late to prevail 61-60 in what surely will go down as one of the more improbable of Hays' 722 career wins.
"We finally got the bounces today," Hays said. "The basketball gods usually even things out and today they did."
John Moon's three-point play with 12.6 seconds left broke a nearly six-minute dry spell for OC (5-15, 2-10 Heartland) and provided enough cushion for the Eagles to withstand a late 3-pointer by TAMIU (14-6, 9-3), which had only lost once in 12 previous home games this season.
"I told the guys yesterday that we're going to change our mindset," Hays said. "We're playing better basketball. A couple of unfortunate things happened at St. Mary's (on Thursday) or we could have won that game also. We could have won the game against Rogers State (on Jan. 23). We could have won the game against Arkansas-Fort Smith (on Jan. 21).
"I told the guys yesterday, just jump on the ol' Dan-Dog's train and we're going to win, and they did. We had some anxious moments there late, but it was just a terrific defensive effort by our guys."
Moon was his usual self, finishing with 23 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), six rebounds and one blocked shot, extending his consecutive-game streak in the latter category to 45.
Elijah Strickland added 10 points and five assists for OC, which shot a season-high 58.5 percent (24 of 41) from the field.
OC didn't steal the win by any means, leading TAMIU for the final 36 minutes – by as many as 10 points – and fending off challenge after challenge from the Dustdevils.
Strickland's 3-pointer with 6:06 left extended OC's lead to 58-51, but on their next six possessions, the Eagles went 0-of-3 from the field with three turnovers, allowing TAMIU to close the gap. Two free throws by Anthony Alston pulled the Dustdevils within 58-57 with 1:34 left.
The teams then traded missed shots, with former OC player Jordan VanDeKop missing a jumper with 40 seconds left that would have put TAMIU ahead. Moon rebounded and after two timeouts, the Eagles got him the ball in the post and he scored while being fouled by TAMIU's Greg Mason. After a timeout by TAMIU, Moon made the free throw to put OC up 61-57.
Arthur Santanna hit a 3-pointer for TAMIU with 3.5 seconds left and the Dustdevils fouled Moon with 2.6 seconds left. Moon missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity and VanDeKop rebounded for TAMIU, but Strickland knocked the ball out of bounds as time expired.
OC took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Strickland that gave the Eagles a 7-5 lead with 16:14 left in the first half. A 3-pointer by
Deric Shelton extended OC's advantage to 26-16 at the 6:14 mark of the half before the Eagles settled for a 34-29 halftime lead. The Eagles' largest second-half lead was eight points.
Santanna and Anthony Alston each scored 13 points for TAMIU, with Alston adding nine rebounds, and Jake Eynon scored 11 points. The Dustdevils shot 43.1 percent (22 of 51) from the field.
"They were the No. 1 team in the league going into this game and we were last," Hays said. "Anything can happen. Basketball is a game of nights. This trip is a grinder, but there was no lack of energy today. Our guys were exceptional. I feel really good about it and hopefully we can get some momentum and we'll get some people behind us at home next week and see if we can duplicate it."
OC will host Lubbock Christian (Texas) on Thursday night and Oklahoma Panhandle State next Saturday afternoon.
