OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 28, 2019) – With Will Lienhard snatching rebound after rebound, Jordan Box continually knocking down 3-pointers and York Benjamin not missing a shot, Oklahoma Christian looked as good as it has all basketball season on Thursday night.

Arkansas-Fort Smith proved the victim of the convergence of strong OC performances, with the Eagles never trailing and leading by as many as 27 points en route to an 88-73 win in the Eagles' Nest.

OC (10-16, 5-10 Heartland Conference) locked up the No. 6 seed for the Heartland postseason tournament, which will begin next Thursday in Tulsa. OC will play the No. 3 seed – either Lubbock Christian (Texas) or Newman (Kan.) – in a quarterfinal game on Friday.

UAFS (10-18, 4-12) also will be in the eight-team tournament field, either as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed. The Lions are being coached down the stretch of the season by Curtis Janz, the former longtime OC assistant coach and athletic director who's now the UAFS athletic director.

"To win and clinch that sixth spot was good," OC coach Cory Cole said. "For the second year in a row, the guys stepped up and played team basketball at a key point in the season. It was awesome."

Lienhard, a senior center from Oklahoma City who leads NCAA Division II in rebounding, grabbed 18 boards against UAFS, increasing his season total to 335 and setting a new Heartland single-season record in that category. Kevin Kotzur of St. Mary's (Texas) set the former record of 323 during the 2012-13 season.

Lienhard and Roderick Smith (12 points, eight rebounds) helped OC post a 45-35 rebounding edge over the Lions. Lienhard also scored eight points and had four blocked shots, four assists and two steals.

"Will is so under-heralded," said Cole, who a quarter-century after his playing career ended still holds OC's career rebounding record. "He just does so many things. Tonight, against a good frontline, to get eight and 18 and four blocks and four assists – he's a stat stuffer that is really underappreciated. He's just dominant. He can score, but he's definitely one of the best rebounders in school history. He's our anchor. I'm so proud of him and the way he's stepped up in big games."

Box went 9 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line while pouring in a team-high 29 points. His backcourt mate, Brian Carey, also sizzled from behind the arc, going 3 of 4 en route to an 11-point effort.

"Jordan was huge," Cole said. "He had three good days of practice. I loved mentally where he was at, with his preparation. His confidence is still surging. The guys were finding him in the right spots. I like it when he gets aggressive. Jordan is capable of doing that many, many more nights. Hopefully he gets hot here late."

Although limited to just nine minutes by foul trouble, Benjamin made the most of them, making all five of his shots, including a pair of follow dunks in the second half that gave the Eagles a much-needed boost of momentum to finish the game. Benjamin scored 10 points.

"I was really proud of York," Cole said. "He got the two early bang-bang fouls and really didn't get frustrated. He came out relaxed in the second half, really poised. He's a real skilled, energetic guy and he was just dominant in those eight minutes in the second half. With him and Will playing like they were tonight, we're pretty hard to beat."

OC jumped to a 7-0 lead in just 49 seconds, with Box hitting a pair of 3-pointers after offensive rebounds by Marcus Blackwell. Three-pointers by Carey and Box in the final 90 seconds of the first half gave the Eagles a 49-30 advantage.

The Eagles led 69-42 after a basket by Smith with 12:22 left, but didn't score for the next 3½ minutes, allowing the Lions to pull within 69-49. Benjamin then threw down his two put-back dunks, and two more baskets, in a two-minute span to keep the Eagles afloat offensively.

UAFS twice pulled within 14 points in the last 3½ minutes and then within 12 in the final seconds, but never seriously threatened. Chris Crawford led the Lions with 25 points and Tyler Williams scored 21 points, but no other UAFS player reached double figures.

The Eagles will host Rogers State for Senior Day on Saturday at 3 p.m. It will be the regular-season finale for both teams.

Cory Cole discusses the game: https://youtu.be/dastdCRfK6Q