Box Score DURANT, Okla. (Dec. 30, 2017) – When they absolutely needed them, the Oklahoma Christian Eagles knocked down their free throws on Saturday afternoon at Bloomer Sullivan Arena.
OC went 7 of 9 from the line in overtime and
Elijah Strickland capped a 23-point, eight-rebound outing with two huge baskets in the extra period as the Eagles beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 89-82 in OC's final nonconference basketball game of the season.
Roderick Smith scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds as OC (4-8) moved to 2-1 against Great American Conference foes with its first true road win of the season. The Eagles also are the only team to beat GAC-leading Southern Nazarene during the 2017-18 campaign.
"'Last one, best one' has been what I've emphasized in anything we do – give our best and trust the process," OC coach
Cory Cole said. "Today it came together for us and we finished our last game of 2017 with some much-needed momentum and chemistry. It's been an uphill climb and they have hung in together.
"This game had a ton of runs. Southeastern has some players and it was a tough, hard-played game."
OC led Southeastern (4-6) most of the way, but never by more than 10 points. The Eagles looked to be in good shape after a 16-foot jumper by Smith put them up 72-66 with 4:15 left in regulation, but that was their final basket until overtime.
Jordan Box – who scored 21 points – hit two free throws with 45.1 seconds left to make it 74-70 and Smith went 1 of 2 from the line with 24.7 seconds left to give OC a 75-72 lead.
Southeastern guard Jett Jobe – the son of former OC standout Kelly Jobe and grandson of OC Athletic Hall of Famer and former coach Jerry Jobe – hit a 3-pointer with 13.6 seconds left to tie the game. Both teams had chances to win in the final seconds of regulation but came up empty.
Smith tied the game twice in overtime, with two free throws at the 3:05 mark and a put-back dunk at the 2:29 mark. Jobe hit 1 of 2 free throws with 2:14 left to give the Savage Storm its final lead at 80-79, before Strickland scored from underneath the basket with 1:59 left.
Charles Shaw followed with a free throw, and another offensive rebound by Smith led to Strickland's 3-pointer with 45.9 seconds left that put OC ahead 85-80.
Will Lienhard blocked a layup attempt by Southeastern's A'Torey Everett with 31 seconds left, and Box and Strickland each hit a pair of free throws in the final 25.9 seconds to seal the win.
Shaw finished with a season-high nine assists, while Strickland (5 of 8) and Box (3 of 6) combined to go 8 of 14 from 3-point range.
"I'm proud of
Jordan Box, who has been consistent in his new role and continues to give us spark," Cole said. "Rod was a motor for us. He's getting better with each game.
Larry Kuimi game us some much-needed toughness around the rim. He's a competitor. Elijah was again our ace! He is our quarterback. He and Jordan were having fun and making plays. I love seeing them doing their thing. Charles ran the show … and played on both ends."
Markell Henderson led the Savage Storm with 24 points, while Everett had 16 points, Jobe had 13 points (going 3 of 3 from 3-point range) , six rebounds and six assists and Kevin Buckingham had 11 points.
It was the first meeting of the in-state rivals since the 2008-09 season. OC now leads the overall series 28-13.
OC now will turn its attention back to Heartland Conference play. The Eagles will resume their league schedule on Thursday, hosting No. 4-ranked Arkansas-Fort Smith at 7:30 p.m.
