OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 24, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian entered the Heartland Conference Championship perhaps as an afterthought, seeded No. 7 in the eight-team field. Two memorable wins later, the Eagles were playing for a spot in the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.

The Eagles' postseason run, which culminated with an appearance in the Heartland tournament title game, ranks as the No. 8 story in OC athletics for 2018.

OC finished the regular season with a 10-17 record, somewhat masking the Eagles' success against the better teams on its schedule. OC owned wins over eventual Great American Conference champ Southern Nazarene as well as against Heartland regular-season co-champs Arkansas-Fort Smith and Dallas Baptist (Texas) during the regular season.

Facing second-seeded UAFS in the Heartland tournament opener, OC fell behind 14-3 and trailed 35-21 with 4:51 left in the first half, but rallied within 40-38 by halftime, took the lead with 10:26 left and closed on a 19-9 run to stun the 17th-ranked Lions 88-79. Playing in his old high school gym in Tulsa, OC senior Abel Rodriguez had the game of his life, finishing with career highs in points (25) and rebounds (11).

Two days later, facing No. 6 seed St. Edward's (Texas), OC built a 12-point advantage but the Hilltoppers took the lead with 1:57 left in regulation before Jordan Box's well-guarded 3-pointer with 17.3 seconds left forced overtime. St. Edward's led 93-89 with 22.7 seconds left in OT but then Elijah Strickland took over for OC.

The senior guard hit two free throws, and after the Hilltoppers' only senior, Sean Watkins, missed two free throws with 12.7 seconds left, Strickland converted a three-point play with two seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 94-93 lead and – after a defensive stop – the win.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they had to play again about 14 hours later and No. 22-ranked (and top-seeded) Dallas Baptist took full advantage, ending OC's run with a 77-57 win.