Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 31, 2016) – For the second time in three years, St. Edward's (Texas) pulled off a dramatic last-second win over Oklahoma Christian in the Eagles' Nest.
St. Edward's led the game for just 95 seconds, but Ethan Gilbert's 3-pointer put the Hilltoppers ahead with 10 seconds left and they held on for a 77-76 win over OC on Thursday afternoon.
Elijah Strickland missed a difficult baseline jumper in a crowd in the final seconds for OC (6-5, 1-2 Heartland Conference), which led by as many as 13 points and responded with poise to almost every challenge by St. Edward's (10-6, 2-1) until the last sequence.
OC shot 50.9 percent (27 of 53) from the field, including 55.6 percent (10 of 18) from 3-point range and outrebounded the Hilltoppers 35-27 while leading the game for more than 35 minutes, but the Eagles had 18 turnovers to only seven for St. Edward's. OC also went 12-of-17 from the free-throw line, while St. Edward's was a perfect 11-of-11.
Keilan Horton led OC with 23 points, going 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Four of those 3-pointers came in the first eight minutes, and Strickland – who scored 16 points – followed with a two more 3-pointers, the latter putting OC ahead 32-19 with 8:16 left in the first half.
A dunk by
John Moon gave OC a 36-25 advantage with 5:11 left in the first half, but the Hilltoppers answered with 12 straight points and led briefly before Strickland's jumper put OC ahead 38-37 at halftime.
Every time St. Edward's challenged in the second half, OC had an answer. The Eagles went up 49-41 less than three minutes into the half, opening on an 11-4 run.
The Hilltoppers tied the game at 54-54 with 12:08 left and 63-63 with 7:17 left, but didn't take the lead. OC led 72-68 after Horton went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line with 3:20 left. St. Edward's pulled even at 72-72 on Sean Watkins' layup with 2:18 left, but OC's
Marcus Mathieu put OC back ahead with two free throws with 1:11 left.
After John Gramlich's layup for the Hilltoppers tied the game at 74-74 with 1:02 left, Mathieu missed a 3-point shot for OC, but Moon grabbed his 12th rebound, giving OC the ball with 30.3 seconds left. Mathieu hit two more free throws with 20.5 seconds left to make it 76-74.
Gilbert, who went 4-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 18 points, worked his way open on the right wing before swishing his 3-pointer. OC opted not to call timeout, but the Eagles weren't able to get into their offensive set, forcing Strickland to try to make something happen with a drive into traffic. He missed and Gilbert rebounded for the Hilltoppers as the buzzer sounded.
St. Edward's frustrated Moon, the Heartland's leading scorer, and limited him to nine points – after he had exploded on them for 41 points in an OC win last February. It was the first time Moon didn't reach double digits in scoring since scoring nine in a loss to Cameron on Nov. 14, 2015, a stretch of 36 games.
Dorian Lopez added 13 points and seven rebounds for OC. Ramir Burton scored 13 points for St. Edward's, while Cory McKendree and James Taylor added 10 each.
OC will return to action on Thursday, hosting Texas A&M International.
