OKLAHOMA CITY (July 5, 2019) – The schedule is set for the first season of
Kendre Talley's tenure as Oklahoma Christian's men's basketball coach and the Eagles' first campaign in the Lone Star Conference.
OC's 26-game schedule, announced Friday, will have many familiar opponents, but also plenty of new ones as well as the program makes the transition from the now-defunct Heartland Conference into the LSC.
The Eagles will play 22 LSC games, facing each conference foe at least once and the five teams in their scheduling pod – Arkansas-Fort Smith, Cameron, Midwestern State (Texas), Texas-Tyler and Texas A&M-Commerce – twice each.
Six other former Heartland members will join the LSC for 2019-20 – UAFS, Dallas Baptist (Texas), Lubbock Christian (Texas), Texas A&M International, St. Mary's (Texas) and St. Edward's (Texas). New LSC opponents for the Eagles will include Angelo State (Texas), Cameron, Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State (Texas), Texas-Permian Basin, Texas-Tyler, West Texas A&M and Western New Mexico.
The Eagles will face York (Neb.) in the annual homecoming exhibition game on Nov. 2. OC will begin regular-season play at home against local rival Central Oklahoma on Nov. 12.
Two days later, OC will head east to Tahlequah to play Northeastern State, a program OC has much memorable history against (including two 1968 postseason wins and a triple-overtime loss in 1993) but hasn't faced on the court since February 1994. OC is 9-8 all-time against the RiverHawks.
Two days after that, on Nov. 16, the Eagles will head the other direction on Interstate 40 to Weatherford to visit Southwestern Oklahoma State for another nonconference game.
OC will open Lone Star play at home by hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville (the Eagles' first meeting against the Javelinas) on Nov. 21 and Texas A&M International on Nov. 23. The Eagles then will host archrival Southern Nazarene on Nov. 30 in their final nonconference game of the season, then finish a four-game homestand against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Dec. 14.
The Eagles' first LSC road games will be at West Texas A&M on Dec. 19 and at Eastern New Mexico – alma mater of legendary OC coach (and current assistant)
Dan Hays – on Dec. 21. After the Christmas break, the Eagles will head on the road again to St. Edward's on Jan. 2 and St. Mary's on Jan. 4.
OC will host Tarleton State on Jan. 9 and Dallas Baptist on Jan. 11. The Eagles have played Tarleton State only once before, winning 110-34 during the 1987-88 season.
OC will visit Texas-Tyler – which is making the move from NCAA Division III into Division II – on Jan. 16 before visiting Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 18. The Eagles and TAMUC have opened the season against each other the last four years, with TAMUC winning each time.
The Eagles will host Midwestern State on Jan. 23 and in-state rival Cameron on Feb. 25 before a three-game road stretch that will take them to Arkansas-Fort Smith on Feb. 1, Texas-Permian Basin on Feb. 6 and Western New Mexico on Feb. 8. OC also is 1-0 all-time against Western New Mexico, winning 69-53 during the 1992-93 season.
The first-ever meeting between OC and Angelo State will be in the Eagles' Nest on Feb. 13, with Lubbock Christian – now OC's longest-standing conference foe, having shared a league with the Eagles since the mid-1990s – will be in Oklahoma City two days after that.
OC will visit Cameron on Feb. 20 and Midwestern State on Feb. 22 before returning home to close the regular season against Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 27 and Texas-Tyler on Feb. 29.
The Lone Star Conference postseason tournament will be at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, from March 5-8.
