Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 9, 2017) – Oklahoma Christian nearly rallied from eight points down in the final 61 seconds, but the Eagles missed their final three shots, allowing Oklahoma Baptist to hang on for an 80-74 win on Saturday afternoon in the Eagles' Nest.
OBU (4-5) and OC (2-6) – longtime rivals in the programs' NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference days – hadn't played since March 3, 2012, when the unranked Eagles stunned the then-No. 1-ranked Bison in overtime to win the SAC tournament championship game in Siloam Springs, Ark. Saturday's meeting nearly had a similarly sensational ending for OC.
The Bison led 76-68 before
Elijah Strickland knocked down a 3-pointer for OC with 1:01 left. OBU's Vladimir Nemcok fumbled the ball out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds play and Strickland again converted, hitting another 3-pointer to pull OC within 76-74 with 43.1 seconds left.
OC's
Conner Johnson then stole the basketball from Adnan Jahic and the ball quickly found its way to Strickland for another 3-point attempt. But unfortunately, that shot missed and OBU rebounded. Travon Moore hit two free throws with 24 seconds left to extend OBU's lead to 78-74.
Both
Charles Shaw and
Miroslav Jaksic missed tough, contested shots inside for OC and the Bison rebounded Jaksic's miss before Moore knocked down two more free throws with 13.3 seconds left. Shaw missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 10.3 seconds left for OC and the Bison ran out the clock.
"The game was going to come down to the last minute," OC coach
Cory Cole said. "We had a chance to make a play and put ourselves up one and that's what you want your guys to do. Our guys aren't quitting. They're still believing. The task was big, the mountain was high, but the guys were just fighting, believing and making some plays."
OC lost despite a yeoman's effort from junior forward
Roderick Smith, who poured in 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds (12 of those offensive). It was Smith's third double-digit rebounding performance of the season and his second straight double-double.
"Rod made plays throughout the game," Cole said. "His will, his toughness, his nose for the ball, it really shows on the offensive end, because he just won't be stopped. We just have to do a better job of getting him those second-chance rebounds on the defensive end, because those can prevent points. Rod is one of the best rebounders in the country and he's starting to show that in back-to-back games."
The Eagles started the game on an 8-2 run and were up 28-23 after a layup by Smith at the 7:59 mark in the first half. OC still led 30-26 with 6:26 left in the half before 3-pointers by Spencer Lindsey and Jahic put the Bison ahead 32-20. OBU made 8 of its first 9 3-point attempts and finished 10 of 17 from behind the arc.
That solid shooting proved to the difference. OC took 30 more shots than OBU, but the Bison shot 55.6 percent from the field, while OC hit only 35.7 percent of its attempts.
OBU led 40-34 at halftime but never could pull away in the second half. The Bison's largest lead came at 74-64 with 2:51 left, before the OC heroics that fell just short.
Strickland scored 14 points and added seven rebounds for OC, while Jaksic had 12 points and eight rebounds. Chandler Rickey led OBU with 25 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and seven rebounds, while Jahic had 10 points.
OC will be off until next Friday, when the Eagles will host Eastern New Mexico. They'll travel to St. Louis for games against Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville (Mo.) on Dec. 18-19.
Cory Cole discusses the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr7PC9Za7Zs
