OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 11, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian's players have bought into the idea that defense is what will win them basketball games. It helped them take down yet another highly ranked opponent on Saturday.

The Eagles' suffocating defense limited No. 13/10-ranked Dallas Baptist (Texas) to 31.4-percent shooting as OC posted a surprisingly lopsided 61-42 win over the Patriots in the Eagles' Nest. Dallas Baptist's point total was the lowest in its program history and the lowest by an OC opponent since Nov. 4, 2006, when the Eagles beat Oklahoma Wesleyan 97-39.

DBU (13-2, 7-2) entered the game ranked No. 10 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' NCAA Division II poll and No. 13 in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association poll. OC (5-8, 4-5) now owns a win over a top-10 opponent for a third straight season, as the Eagles beat then-No. 2 St. Edward's (Texas) last season and then-No. 4 Arkansas-Fort Smith during the 2017-18 campaign.

"It was a great bounce-back win for us," OC coach Kendre Talley said. "Thursday we took a tough loss to a good Tarleton State team and the main thing I told the guys is we had to have some short-term memory, go back to the drawing board and be prepared to play a good game today, and we did. I'm proud of these guys for going out and playing as hard as they did."

OC is allowing opponents an average of only 64.8 points per game, tops in the Lone Star and among the top 15 in scoring defense in Division II. The Eagles have two of the league's top five rebounders in Dedrian Parmer Jr. and Will Lienhard (who had 14 boards vs. DBU), while Lienhard leads the league in blocked shots by a wide margin and is in the top 10 nationally, averaging 2.8 per game.

"This was a statement game for us," Parmer Jr. said. "We've had some unfortunate (losses), but if we score the ball, we can roll with anybody in the nation, in my opinion. We've got one of the best defenses in the nation, so if we can put the ball in the hole, we can roll with anybody."

OC's domination against the Patriots – a team that ended the Eagles' season each of the past two years and entered Saturday averaging 80.0 points per game – wasn't a fluke. The Eagles led for 36 minutes (including by double digits for the last 9:16) and outrebounded the Patriots by a whopping 46-27 margin. As have many opponents this season, Dallas Baptist struggled to solve OC's zone defense and rarely took uncontested shots.

"We don't really care about a steal or a block," Talley said. "We just want to make everything tough. That's what we've been doing with our zone. These guys are starting to trust each other more and help each other out, and that makes the zone great."

OC seized control with an 18-5 run that put the Eagles ahead 23-11 after a driving layup by Marcus Blackwell (who scored 12 points) with 5:45 left in the first half. The Patriots closed the gap to 23-18 by halftime, but OC – which also led the LSC's two other ranked teams, West Texas A&M and St. Edward's, at halftime before eventually succumbing in both games – was determined to not let go of the lead.

DBU pulled within 29-27 on a 3-pointer by Conner Lidiak with 14:49 left, but Aubrey Johnson (who scored 14 points) answered with a 3-pointer to start a 16-3 run by OC. Parmer Jr., who had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, hit two free throws with 8:14 left to extend the Eagles' lead to 45-30.

The Patriots came no closer than 12 points the rest of the way and only broke the 40-point barrier thanks to a 3-pointer by Broc Wisenbaker with 25 seconds left.

DBU went 16 of 51 from the field, including 6 of 24 (25 percent) from 3-point range. The Patriots had only one player score in double figures – Carter Brown, who had 10 points. Carter Jacobs, one of the LSC's top scorers, managed only nine points, seven below his average.

"We did a poor job today of staying in attack mode," Dallas Baptist coach Blake Flickner said. "Give Oklahoma Christian credit. They have a history of playing really well against good teams. They've been strong defensively all year."

OC will go back on the road next week for games Thursday at a pair of LSC division rivals – NCAA Division II newcomer Texas-Tyler on Thursday and Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday.

Game highlights: https://youtu.be/fLuN6f5dpzA