OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 15, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian followed a sloppy first-half defensive effort with lock-down D in the second half against Southwestern Christian and it seemed like it would be just enough for the Eagles – but the visitors had other ideas.

David Beasley hit a 23-foot 3-pointer – with a defender in his face – with 1.4 seconds left to lift Southwestern Christian past OC 79-77 in the Eagles' Nest on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for OC. Led by double-doubles from Will Lienhard (10 points, 21 rebounds) and Roderick Smith (16 points, 13 rebounds), the Eagles outrebounded Southwestern Christian by a whopping 59-17 count. OC (3-6) recovered from a 16-point first-half deficit to build a 76-63 lead with 5:37 left, but managed only one point the rest of the way.

Southwestern Christian, an NAIA foe that counted the game as an exhibition, took advantage of six OC fouls and eight turnovers by the Eagles during that final 5½ minutes to slowly rally. SCU pulled even at 76-76 on a steal and layup by Beasley with 28.6 seconds left.

Smith split a pair of free throws for OC with 22.4 seconds left, putting the Eagles back ahead, and Southwestern Christian held for a final shot. The Eagles forced Southwestern Christian into scramble mode, but Beasley bailed them out, knocking down his only 3-pointer of the game over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Lienhard. Beasley finished with 15 points.

OC wasn't able to get a shot off in the final moments.

"We have made progress," OC coach Cory Cole said. "You can't get discouraged when you get an L. Is that who you are? No. … We're doing this for the long term. We've got plenty of games left. We've got to learn from this and get better and take advantage."

Southwestern Christian made its first nine shots – not missing a field-goal attempt until the 13:13 mark – and shot a sizzling 71.4 percent from the field in the first half. Southwestern Christian led 43-27 at the 6:47 mark, but a 16-3 run by the Eagles pulled OC within 46-43. They trailed 53-46 at halftime.

"We were not ready to play," Cole said. "You can't give up (53) points. … I was disappointed by our start. The lack of coming out ready to start has been a glaring weakness for us this season. We know we can do it. It's there – we just haven't been able to go to it."

As hot as Southwestern Christian was in the first half, it was cold in the second half, shooting just 28.1 percent. After David Stinson scored 24 seconds into the second half, Southwestern Christian didn't manage another field goal for the next nine minutes, 43 seconds. That allowed OC to close the gap and the Eagles went ahead 56-55 on a 3-pointer by Aubrey Johnson with 16:33 left, then gradually extended their advantage.

OC finished with 24 turnovers, compared to only 10 for Southwestern Christian. Cole said that was the difference in the game.

"We did some things that were out of character at crucial times, which we continue to do, and that's on me," Cole said. "We've drilled it and drilled it but we haven't executed it in a game when it matters. There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Hopefully, it's building, because we had the character and resolve to come back when we could have folded. There is no quit.

"We didn't get the result we wanted, so that's a frustration, but there was some resolve in the second half. There were some strong individual performances. … I think our composure of being in those moments – we're a new team being in those moments together. It's different. It takes some time to figure out."

Lienhard's 21 rebounds matched the highest single-game total this season by a NCAA Division II player. The performance he matched was his own – a 21-rebound outing against Texas A&M-Commerce in the season opener. He'll likely move back into the Division II rebounding lead when updated statistical lists are released.

The double-double was Lienhard's fourth of the season and sixth of his career. Smith had his ninth career double-double, with two of those coming this season.

Jordan Box scored 27 points to lead the Eagles, raising his career total to 1,043 points and moving to No. 40 on OC's all-time scoring list, past Joe Bartee (1,026 points from 1988-82) and Box's former teammate, Eric Randall (1,020 points from 2009-15).

David Madkin, who made his first six shots – five of them 3-pointers – during Southwestern Christian's sizzling start, led his team with 20 points.

OC will return to action Monday, hosting Maryville (Mo.) at 3 p.m. Maryville beat OC 79-62 last season in St. Louis.