OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 26, 2019) – Basketball coaches often talk about breaking each game into 10 four-minute segments and focusing on winning those segments. Oklahoma Christian did that in a big way for two segments against Lubbock Christian (Texas) and enjoyed the results the rest of Saturday afternoon.

Jordan Box scored 19 points, Marcus Blackwell added 15 and Will Lienhard dominated defensively with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Eagles downed Lubbock Christian 72-57 in the Eagles' Nest, giving OC its second Heartland Conference home win in a row.

During the final four minutes of the first half, OC (7-11, 2-5 Heartland) turned a 28-25 disadvantage into a 39-32 halftime lead. The Eagles hit four straight 3-pointers during a 14-0 run, by Blackwell, Box, Braden Eggleston and Box.

Coming out of halftime, OC outscored Lubbock Christian (12-7, 3-4) by a 9-1 count in the first four minutes and went ahead 48-33 with 16:04 left on a steal and layup by Brian Carey. The Eagles led by double digits the rest of the way, building their advantage to as many as 19 points in the final minutes.

OC shot 51.9 percent (28 of 54) from the field while holding Lubbock Christian to 39.3 percent (22 of 56). The Chaparrals made just 2 of 16 3-point attempts.

"It was a united team effort," OC coach Cory Cole said. "My guys played with energy and trust this afternoon and played for each other. We were consistent doing the little things, getting on the floor and taking charges, for example. Those 50-50 plays were huge momentum points for us."

The Chaparrals feature one of the Heartland's best post players in Brennen Fowler, and he led his team with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. But the Eagles were able to offset Fowler inside with Lienhard, York Benjamin (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and five rebounds), Roderick Smith (eight points, four rebounds) and Eggleston.

Besides Fowler, the Chaparrals had only one double-figure scorer – Isaac Asrat, who had 11 on 4-of-14 shooting. OC outrebounded Lubbock Christian 37-31.

"LCU is a tough team and presents a lot of challenges," Cole said. "Our response was what it needs to be on the defensive end – intensity and dialed in. York was huge, bringing instant energy and toughness. He got after it on both ends."

Offensively, Box went 7 of 14 from the field and hit 3 of 5 3-point attempts, while Blackwell went 3 of 6 from behind the arc.

"Jordan was the gas we needed," Cole said. "He gets us going and got it going offensively with some big buckets. Marcus sets the tone for us defensively. He was relentless today. Our posts battled and banged and made it tough while being physical too. They competed and fought."

OC moved into a three-way tie with St. Mary's (Texas) and Texas A&M International for sixth in the Heartland race, a half-game ahead of Arkansas-Fort Smith. The top eight teams in the league standings will advance to the postseason tournament.

The Eagles will host Newman (Kan.) next Saturday.

Highlights, courtesy of Eagle Media: https://youtu.be/nADZQuA69R4