Box Score GOODWELL, Okla. (Dec. 17, 2016) – Freshman forward Dorian Lopez occasionally frustrates Oklahoma Christian coach Cory Cole, and certainly did so a few times on Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma Panhandle State.

But Cole also loves Lopez because Lopez often makes winning plays. Lopez came up with a clutch rebound, free throw and steal in the final 15 seconds as the Eagles escaped Oscar Williams Fieldhouse with an 80-76 win in the Heartland Conference opener for both men's basketball teams.

OC (5-3, 1-0 Heartland) blew a 14-point first-half lead but rallied from eight points down in the final 13 minutes to record its first road win of the season, and Lopez's play in the final seconds was a huge reason why.

"Dorian is a home run or a single, or sometimes even a bonehead play," Cole said, smiling. "But he has an IQ to put himself in great situations. That was a huge steal and the huge free throws – he played well."

OC won despite not having the Heartland's best player, senior center John Moon, available for long stretches due to foul trouble. The league's leading scorer managed "only" 15 points in 28 minutes, but 10 of those points came in the final nine minutes, fueling the Eagles' rally.

OPSU (5-5, 0-1) led 60-54 after Bowen Nyberg went 2-of-3 at the free-throw line with 9:39 left. Moon exited the bench and scored six straight points – four of those on free throws – to tie the game. Senior guard Luis Lopez's 3-pointer at the 7:04 mark put the Eagles ahead for the first time in almost 10 minutes at 63-62.

Back and forth it went from there. A 3-pointer by Pierre Roddy tied the game for the Aggies with 2:33 left at 73-73. Keilan Horton, who scored 20 points for the Eagles, had the biggest four of the game after that, hitting two free throws with 1:51 left, then turning a steal by Moon into a layup 17 seconds later.

After two more empty OPSU possessions, Moon knocked down two free throws with 33.1 seconds left to put OC up 79-73. Jaden Whitfield answered with a 3-pointer for the Aggies, and a foul on OC's Elijah Strickland on the ensuing inbound play gave OPSU hope. But Tevin Lytes missed two free throws with 14.9 seconds left and Dorian Lopez rebounded for OC.

Dorian Lopez made the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 13.2 seconds left to make it a four-point game, then stole a pass as the Aggies tried to rush the ball upcourt, sealing the win for OC.

"One Heartbeat is our motto," Cole said. "Every guy stepped in and stepped up. The big plays, our guys are looking for that moment and stepping in and playing for each other.

"We play a lot of different combinations and we're able to matchup a little bit bigger at times, just to kind of get them out of their rhythm. Then we just locked in on defense."

The 3-point shots fell early for OC, as the Eagles went 8-of-17 from behind the arc in the first half. OC led 39-25 after a 3-pointer by Marcus Mathieu with 3:54 left, but the Aggies pulled within 41-35 by halftime and opened the second half on a 20-6 run. Two free throws by Malcolm Glanville gave the Aggies a 55-47 lead with 13:06 left.

Strickland went 6-of-11 from 3-point range and also scored 20 points for OC to go with five assists. Dorian Lopez finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Sita Sesay and Devonta Brooks led the Aggies with 14 points each while Jace Kerr had 13 points.

OC will be back on the Heartland road on Monday, facing Newman (Kan.).

Cory Cole discusses the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n600GwaB0YA&feature=youtu.be