Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 25, 2017) – Southern Nazarene entered the game 4-0, while Oklahoma Christian was 0-4, but in this storied rivalry, anything can happen – including a winless team bowing up and stunning a previously unbeaten squad.

At the end of a taut, tense second half, OC outscored SNU 10-1 in the final 2:09 and pulled away for a 76-69 win over the Crimson Storm on Saturday afternoon in the Eagles' Nest. Elijah Strickland led the Eagles with 26 points – matching his career high – including a clutch jumper and two free throws in the final 61 seconds.

OC (1-4) improved its all-time advantage in the series versus its most-played-against rival to 65-45, and Saturday's win over SNU (4-1) had to rank among the most improbable of those 65.

"You throw your records out the window," OC coach Cory Cole said. "We've played a tough, challenging schedule and I think it prepared us for this game. Our guys have been putting together good games but we haven't finished, so this was another good opportunity for us. It happened to be a rivalry, so our guys were up for this game."

The game featured 16 lead changes and was tight throughout, although early on it looked like might not be that way. SNU raced to a 12-4 lead before a 20-4 run by the Eagles gave OC a 26-18 lead at the 9:14 mark of the first half.

The Storm led 40-39 at halftime and for the first 19 minutes of the second half, the difference between the teams was no more than three points. The Eagles stayed locked in on both ends of the court, something that made Cole proud.

"The last few days of practice, we've stressed being focused," he said. "Be locked in. Value every possession. Our motto is 'play to play, day to day.' The guys did that, we finished, and it's good to see against a good team."

SNU's Jhonathan Dunn hit an 18-foot jumper with 2:57 left to put his team up 68-66, but that proved to be the Storm's final basket, as they missed their final six attempts and committed two turnovers down the stretch.

Charles Shaw's driving layup with 2:09 left tied the game for OC, and he fed Roderick Smith for the go-ahead layup with 1:42 left. After a miss by the Storm, Strickland nailed a 14-foot jumper to give OC a 72-68 lead – which seemed enormous, considering the circumstances.

"Elijah's shot gave us that two-possession lead, which felt like it was 10 points, because you just knew that game was still on the cusp," Cole said. "That's a big iso play and Elijah loves to be in that moment. To see him knock that down was just a huge shot in the arm for the whole program, because we've been in that moment all season long and just hadn't finished. It was good for us and it was our time."

Shaw hit two free throws with 37.4 seconds left to make it 74-68. Dunn, who had 13 points, went 1 of 2 from the line for SNU with 25 seconds left, but Strickland knocked down two more free throws with 19.7 seconds left to seal the win for OC.

Smith added 15 points for OC on 6-of-8 shooting, while Will Lienhard had six points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Those two, along with center Miroslav Jaksic, helped foul out SNU's two top post players, brothers Jared Starkey and Noah Starkey. A third Storm player, guard Quaylon Newton, also fouled out.

Micah Speight led SNU with 16 points. Noah Starkey had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Newton and Chris Stephens had 10 points each. The Storm committed 21 turnovers to only 10 for OC, another key difference.

OC will host National Christian College Athletic Association foe Manhattan Christian (Texas) on Tuesday before Newman (Kan.) will visit next Saturday for the Heartland Conference opener for both teams.

Cory Cole discusses the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jk4AlXkMX8&feature=youtu.be

Highlight from the game, courtesy of Eagle Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70C1jEOOWqY&feature=youtu.be