Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 26, 2017) –With his team teetering on the edge of what would have been a difficult defeat, Oklahoma Christian junior guard
Elijah Strickland made what proved to be a game-winning play.
Strickland grabbed an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left and OC clinging to a one-point lead, giving the Eagles a chance to regroup and hang on for a 76-74 win over Newman (Kan.) in the Eagles' Nest on Thursday night.
OC (7-11, 2-8 Heartland Conference) snapped a seven-game losing streak and gained ground on Newman (6-12, 4-5) in the race for what could be the final berth in the league's eight-team postseason tournament.
The Eagles won by somehow surviving seven turnovers in the final four minutes, including four in a 36-second span. Those four miscues allowed Newman – which trailed by 19 points with under seven minutes left – to slice an 11-point deficit to one, as Taylor Schieber's second 3-pointer in eight seconds pulled the Jets within 75-74 with 1:03 left.
OC held the ball, looking for a good shot, and got one when
Dorian Lopez sprung free on the left wing. He missed, but Strickland came swooping in and snatched the rebound, giving the Eagles a new shot clock and forcing Newman to foul.
"Elijah had just had two plays that didn't go his way, but he didn't drop his head," OC coach
Cory Cole said. "He came back in with composure and made the biggest play of the game at that time, getting that offensive board and using some clock."
Marcus Mathieu hit 1-of-2 free throws for OC with 15.3 seconds left – capping a 25-point performance – and the Eagles played swarming, harassing defense as Newman tried for a final shot. The Jets proved unable to manage one until the final moments, when Daniel Nwosu threw up an off-balance 3-point attempt that was well short.
"Newman has a great backcourt – one of the top backcourts in the conference," Cole said. "We kept them down for about 36 minutes, but you knew they were going to erupt. Our guys did a good job sticking together, making the plays when it counted and not getting rattled.
"We've talked all season about just finishing. It felt good to finish against a good team and let them be on the other side and us getting the victory, so hats off to us."
The Eagles received contributions from all over the court. Senior center
John Moon posted his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, matched his season high with five blocked shots and added three assists in what Cole called his best game of the season. Moon put up those numbers despite being guarded much of the time by 6-foot-10 Daniel Green, a former inside player at Wake Forest and Arkansas-Little Rock. Green finished with five points and six rebounds.
Moon also moved past Brad Wedel (1,698 points from 1993-97) and Keith Harris (1,700 points from 2003-07) into 10th place on OC's career scoring list with 1,701 points. He also became only the fifth Heartland player ever to reach the 1,700-point mark.
"I loved his body language, his composure, his toughness, his production," Cole said. "The Green kid is a D-1 transfer. He's a big body guarding John and John did a good job of working position. He did a good job of sliding over and knowing when to leave his feet to block shots and knowing when to bluff and stay at home. He played a great mental game and was dominant."
Lopez just missed a double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Strickland added 12 points and five rebounds. OC outrebounded the Jets 46-31, which proved to be the difference.
OC led for the final 36 minutes of the game, which followed a familiar pattern. The Eagles would blow the lead open, then allow Newman to edge closer, over and over.
Newman trailed by 10 early but cut the lead to one before OC took a 36-32 halftime advantage. An 8-0 run by the Eagles gave them a 54-42 lead with 12:05 left and they pushed that margin to 67-48 on a Moon dunk with 6:58 left.
Newman answered with a 12-3 run to pull within 70-60 on a 3-pointer by Christian DeYoung with 3:31 left and the Jets turned up the defensive heat after that, resulting in OC turnovers that allowed them to make things mighty uncomfortable for the Eagles.
Schieber led the Jets with 19 points, while Nwosu – the Heartland's leading scorer – had 16, but went 6-of-18 from the field. DeYoung added 11 points for Newman.
OC will face another critical Heartland game on Saturday, when the Eagles will host Oklahoma Panhandle State. Moon had the finest game of his career at home against OPSU last season, scoring a school-record 50 points on 20-of-20 shooting.
Cory Cole discusses the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVTet2XN4nA&feature=youtu.be
