OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 19, 2019) – After a poor shooting performance on Thursday that included a 9-of-19 effort from the free-throw line and a 20-point second half, most of Oklahoma Christian's men's basketball players returned to Dan Hays Court on their own for some extra work, trying to shake whatever had ailed them that night.
The improvement was noticeable on Saturday afternoon against St. Mary's (Texas). The Eagles shot 46.4 percent for the game, including 55.6 percent in the second half, and – perhaps more importantly – made 28 of 35 free throws (80 percent) en route to an 85-69 win in the Eagles' Nest.
The win ended a three-game skid for OC (6-10, 1-4 Heartland Conference) during which putting the ball through the basket had been an issue for the Eagles. Against St. Mary's (9-8, 1-4), the Eagles had five players score in double figures, led by
Aubrey Johnson (22 points) and
Marcus Blackwell (18 points).
"It was a gritty bounce-back game for us," OC coach
Cory Cole said. "We played a more complete game. Our execution was solid for most of the game. The guys shared it well offensively and that has been a focal point for us the last two weeks."
The Rattlers led 12-11 after Skyler Brooks hit a 3-pointer at the 12:47 mark of the first half, but Johnson had nine points (two 3-pointers and a three-point play) in an 11-0 run that put the Eagles ahead 22-12 less than two minutes later. Two free throws by
Roderick Smith pushed OC's lead to 32-17 with 6:56 left in the first half.
Unlike Thursday, when the Eagles held a 15-point first-half lead before losing at home to Texas A&M International, they mostly maintained their double-digit advantage. OC led 40-28 at halftime and never let St. Mary's closer than 11 points in the second half, stretching that advantage as high as 24 points.
Smith just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, and teamed with
Will Lienhard (10 points, eight rebounds) to lead the Eagles to a 32-26 edge on the boards.
Jordan Box also scored 14 points for OC to go with a team-high six assists.
Cole cited the performance of two reserve frontline players,
Braden Eggleston and
York Benjamin, as key for the Eagles. Eggleston grabbed five rebounds in 23 minutes while Benjamin had four points in 10 minutes. Both were key against a tall St.Mary's frontline that included players who stand 6-foot-9, 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-11.
"Our bench was huge," Cole said. "We got much-needed energy from Braden on the defensive end, and York was solid and played well."
Petar Radojicic led the Rattlers with 17 points, while Caleb Jordan had 11 points and five assists. St. Mary's shot 48.1 percent from the field but just 52.2 percent (12 of 23) from the free-throw line.
OC will visit defending league regular-season and postseason champion Dallas Baptist (Texas) on Thursday. DBU took two of three games last season, including a win over OC in the Heartland tournament title game. OC will return home for a game next Saturday against Lubbock Christian (Texas).
