Box Score LAREDO, Texas (Feb. 11, 2017) – Just when it looked like Oklahoma Christian had all the momentum on Saturday afternoon at Texas A&M International, turnovers ruined the Eagles' chances.
Four of OC's 21 turnovers came in the final 2:14, after the Eagles had cut a 13-point deficit to one, and TAMIU took advantage to hang on for an 83-79 win.
The loss put a dent in OC's hopes of making the eight-team Heartland Conference tournament. OC (8-14, 3-11 Heartland) trails eighth-place Newman (Kan.) by three games with four games remaining, starting with a home game next Thursday against league-leading Rogers State.
OC fell despite another yeoman's performance by senior center
John Moon, who poured in 30 points to go with a career-high 21 rebounds and four blocked shots. Moon moved back into third place on the Heartland's career scoring list with 1,818 points and now is 14 points ahead of another active player, Seth Youngblood of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
"John played his best overall game as an Eagle," OC coach
Cory Cole said. "He dominated both ends. His toughness and heart kept us in the game. He put us on his back and carried us. The kid left it all on the floor.
"My seniors have been a huge difference for this team. They continue to believe and lead this team. I wish we could have won more of these close games, but without them we wouldn't be competing at the level we have been at."
TAMIU (16-9, 10-5) led by 13 points at 50-37 after a layup by Kenny Hatch with 12:59 left and was up 71-64 with 4:28 left. But OC's
Marcus Mathieu had a 3-pointer, a 2-pointer and two free throws during a 7-1 spurt that pulled OC within 72-71 with 2:46 left.
Bunja Yaboe hit 1-of-2 free throws for the Dustdevils with 2:23 left before the turnover bug bit OC. TAMIU's Denzel Bellot recorded two steals in a 12-second span, with one leading to a basket by Bellot and the other leading to two free throws by Bellot, which made it 77-71 with 1:58 left and capped his 27-point performance.
OC never recovered. A layup by
Elijah Strickland – who scored 22 points, one off his career high – with :05 left cut the deficit to 82-79, but Kenny Hatch made 1-of-2 free throws for the Dustdevils a second later to seal the TAMIU win. Hatch scored 21 points, while Dan Milota had 13 for TAMIU.
"The key to the game was our turnovers – 21 on the road is not going to help you win," Cole said. "We will learn from that and get better. Elijah was huge for us. He made some plays for us on the offensive end that were huge. I loved his energy. "
OC started the game on a 19-6 run, but the Dustdevils scored the next 16 points to seize the lead and were up 35-31 at halftime.
Dorian Lopez and Mathieu added 10 points each for OC.
