LAWTON, Okla. (Nov. 9, 2018) – Even though Oklahoma Christian's
Will Lienhard put on one of the greatest individual displays of rebounding in Heartland Conference men's basketball history, the Eagles didn't have quite enough offense on Friday against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Lienhard grabbed 21 rebounds,
Marcus Blackwell had 23 points in his debut with the Eagles and
Jordan Box added 22 points, but the Eagles dug themselves a double-digit first-half hole and never could climb out while falling 89-82 in the opening game of the Heartland-Lone Star Challenge at Aggie Gym.
Lienhard, a senior from Oklahoma City, matched the third-highest single-game total ever by a Heartland player and the highest by a Heartland player facing a NCAA Division II foe. He was just five rebounds away from OC's school record of 26, jointly held by Bob Williams (vs. Cameron in 1977) and Kevin Jones (vs. Southwestern (Kan.) in 1999), and just eight shy of matching TAMUC's team total in rebounds.
OC (0-1) never led against TAMUC (1-0) – which made the Division II tournament last season – and the Lions held a double-digit lead just six minutes into the game. TAMUC led by as many as 14 points before settling for a 40-31 halftime advantage.
The Eagles gradually chipped away and pulled within 62-58 on a jumper by
Brian Carey with 7:40 left, but consecutive 3-pointers by Carson Tuttle and Trey Conrod restored TAMUC's lead to 10 points. A 3-pointer by Box with 3:26 left got the Eagles within 76-70, but the Eagles came no closer than that in the final minutes.
OC went just 5 of 16 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range while the Lions were 9 of 21 (42.9 percent).
Blackwell, a junior-college transfer from Seminole State, hit nine of his 14 shots and Box went 8 of 14 from the field while making all three of his 3-point attempts. But besides that duo, only one OC player, center
York Benjamin (11 points, including 9 of 9 from the free-throw line) reached double figures. Lienhard scored eight points for the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Lions had six players score in double figures, led by Conrod (18 points), Reggie Reid (16 points) and Deonta Terrell (15 points).
The Eagles will face the host school, Cameron, on Saturday at 3 p.m.
