Box Score TULSA, Okla. (March 3, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian men's basketball coach Cory Cole often has praised the clutch play of Elijah Strickland, and the senior guard showed why he has Cole's confidence on Saturday in the Heartland Conference Championship tournament semifinals.

Strickland scored 26 points, including the game-winning three-point play with :02 left in overtime, to lift the seventh-seeded Eagles past sixth-seeded St. Edward's (Texas) 94-93 in a game at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center that figures to live long in Eagle lore.

OC (12-17) improbably will face top-seeded Dallas Baptist (Texas) on Sunday at noon for the tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament. OC and DBU split their regular-season meetings, with each winning on its home court.

"What a game!" OC coach Cory Cole said. "This is why you love March. Both staffs did a great job of getting their teams here. The back and forth of the game – their guys made some plays, our guys made some plays – and each team was resilient. We got the last shot. That's what it boils down to. We got the last break. It's one of those game as a player, as a coach, you just love being a part of. It's a hard one to win, it's a hard one to lose. That's why you play the game.

"I've got the best guys. There's so much belief in this room. I'm just extremely proud."

For OC to win, everything had to go the Eagles' way in the final seconds, and somehow that happened.

OC led most of the way, by as many as 12 points, but St. Edward's (18-12) kept edging closer and closer throughout the second half and finally took the lead with 1:57 left in regulation.

With the Hilltoppers up 77-74, OC's Jordan Box (who scored 20 points) hit a well-guarded 3-pointer from the corner (following two offensive rebounds by the Eagles after other 3-point attempts missed) to tie the game with 17.2 seconds left. Former OC player Dorian Lopez missed a close-in shot at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

Both teams held the lead in overtime, but it looked like St. Edward's would win when it took a 93-89 lead with 22.7 seconds in OT on two free throws by Landon Goesling, who scored 35 points. At that point, the Hilltoppers had made all 20 of their free throws.

Strickland made two free throws at the other end and OC quickly fouled the Hilltoppers' only senior, Sean Watkins, with 12.7 seconds left. Watkins missed both of his free throws, OC rebounded and quickly got the ball to Strickland, who was hounded by a pair of defenders. He drove toward the basket, absorbing contact from the Hilltoppers' Matthew Paterson, and finished the layup to tie the game.

Then Strickland hit the free throw to put OC ahead.

"I was just trying to get the best shot possible," he said. "I saw a little opening and just took it. I didn't think I was going to get fouled, but he fouled me, so I'll take it. I was just glad to get this win.

"It's been a bad year shooting free throws for me this whole year. I'm not going to lie. But I just stepped up for the team. Coach put me in a position to be a leader, so to be leader, I had to knock that free throw down."

But St. Edward's wasn't finished. Without a timeout, Lopez threw a pass the length of the court that appeared to be headed out of bounds when OC's Roderick Smith grabbed it, but Smith stepped out of bounds. Officials ruled that 1.7 seconds remained and St. Edward's had the ball in the frontcourt.

Ryan Garza inbounded to Lopez, who had a path to the basket, but OC's Will Lienhard distracted Lopez enough that Lopez's layup attempted bounced over the rim and harmlessly to the floor as time expired. Lopez finished with 29 points (on 10 of 18 shooting) and 11 rebounds.

"It's honestly hard to gather my thoughts after that," St. Edward's coach Andre Cook said. "But I will tell you that in 22 years as a head coach, that's as tough a one as I've had, as we've had. Credit Oklahoma Christian. They were ready to play in the first half to get up 11, but then give my guys a tremendous amount of (credit)."

OC picked up valuable production from its inside players, as Miroslav Jaksic came off the bench to score 13 points and Lienhard recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. OC also shot 39 free throws, making 32.

"Coach Cole just told me to be aggressive offensively and defensively," Jaksic said. "I made some mistakes, but … I made some baskets and I made my free throws today."

OC seized control of the game with a 14-2 run late in the second half, capped by a 3-pointer by Strickland that put the Eagles up 28-20. A 3-pointer by Abel Rodriguez – playing in his old high school gym – gave OC a 42-31 halftime lead and Box's 3-pointer 32 seconds into the second half extended that margin to 45-33.

Cole said it's been quite a journey from being picked seventh in the Heartland preseason poll to finish last to being able to play for the league's postseason title.

"We've been preparing all season," Cole said. "We've talked about this moment. We were picked last in the Heartland and that's where we started. But we worked as if we wanted to be here on Championship Sunday, so we're not surprised. There was a lot of hard work. … This is why you want to play, to put everything on the line."

OC postgame press conference: https://youtu.be/F0E-heetqjE

Game highlights: https://youtu.be/edfy2OE_9Tk