Box Score AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 1, 2018) – With Oklahoma Christian down two starters due to injury and illness, men's basketball coach
Cory Cole was looking for someone to fill the gap for the Eagles on Thursday night against St. Edward's (Texas).
Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Hot shooting by the guard tandem of
Elijah Strickland and
Jordan Box gave the Eagles a chance, but St. Edward's pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a 107-92 win at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
Box poured in a career-high 33 points and Strickland added 25, moving up three spots to No. 28 on OC's career scoring list in the process. But no other OC player scored more than six points and the absence of starting center
Will Lienhard and point guard
Charles Shaw loomed large as a result.
Without Lienhard, the Eagles were outrebounded 43-32, and without Shaw to contend with, St. Edward's point guard Landon Goesling – the Heartland Conference's leading scorer – finished with 35 points. Goesling and fellow St. Edward's guard Sean Watkins combined for 14 assists, many to forward James Taylor, who went 10 of 13 from the field and scored 21 points for the Hilltoppers.
"I'm proud of our backcourt tonight," Cole said. "Elijah and Jordan kept us in it. The bench was a huge drop-off for us again. On the road and down a few starters, we didn't get anyone else to step up. We have got to be better in all phases.
"Any time you give up this many points, the odds are you're not going to win. We've got to bounce back Saturday against a tough Rogers State team."
OC (7-13, 3-6 Heartland) rode Box's hot hand early. He scored eight points during a 17-2 run that put the Eagles up 23-13 with 11:27 left in the first half and they hung on for a 47-45 halftime lead.
A 3-pointer by Box with 15:59 left gave OC a 60-51 advantage, but the Hilltoppers kept coming. OC's last lead was at 68-66 on a driving layup by box with 11:39 left. An 8-2 spurt by St. Edward's put the Hilltoppers ahead and they steadily stretched their lead after that, to as many as 17 points.
OC shot 50.8 percent from the field, while St. Edward's shot 49.5 percent, but thanks to 17 offensive rebounds, the Hilltoppers finished with 73 shots – 14 more than the Eagles.
St. Edward's (15-7, 5-5) also was solid at the free-throw line, knocking down 29 of 33 attempts, while OC was 22 of 33.
Watkins scored 12 points to go with his nine assists and Cory McKendree had a double-double for the Hilltoppers with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Corey Shervill added 14 points, going 10-of-11 from the line.
On the OC career scoring list, Strickland moved into the top 30, leapfrogging Fred Garcia (1993-95), Les Pyeatt (1997-2001) and Reed Johnson (1971-73) in one game. Strickland now has 1,232 career points.
