OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 23, 2020) – When he's on, Aubrey Johnson is one of the Lone Star Conference's most dangerous sharpshooters, and the Oklahoma Christian senior guard definitely was on against Midwestern State (Texas) on Thursday night.

Johnson poured in a career-high 35 points, going 9 of 16 from 3-point range, and hit four clutch free throws in the final 24.8 seconds as the Eagles held off Midwestern State 64-60 in the Eagles' Nest. The nine 3-pointers matched the highest total by a LSC player this season and were just two off OC's school record.

Making clutch plays at the other end for the Eagles was senior center Will Lienhard, who grabbed 15 rebounds – the third-highest single-game total this season in the LSC – and blocked four shots to go with six assists and seven points. He sealed the win for the Eagles with a free throw with 4.9 seconds left, after rebounding a missed 3-point attempt by Midwestern State's Trae Jones.

OC (6-10, 5-7 LSC) is in a tight race for a potential spot in the LSC postseason tournament, and every wins counts, especially one against a divisional foe like Midwestern State (3-14, 3-8). It was the Mustangs' first visit to OC since Nov. 5, 1983, when they beat the Eagles during the first of what eventually became 31 seasons on the OC bench for legendary coach Dan Hays.

Current OC head coach Kendre Talley – who had the "interim" tag on his title removed earlier Thursday – had plenty of praise for both Johnson and Lienhard.

"These dudes did a good job tonight of just locking in and … focusing on the task at hand," Talley said. "The other guys kept looking to Aubrey. It was real good we weren't selfish tonight. We looked for the hot hand. We put him in a lot of positions to score and he did a great job of just knocking them down and taking smart shots, too. He didn't take a whole lot of heat checks. They were just good shots within our offense."

Lienhard "is our glue guy. He doesn't do a lot of one thing, he does a little bit of everything, except for rebounds. He works out every day, comes in with a great mentality and his hard work pays off consistently. He's one of the most unselfish guys on our team."

Johnson hit his first five 3-point attempts, all within the first eight minutes, to stake the Eagles to a 21-13 lead and OC was ahead 33-27 at halftime. But Midwestern State used a 13-3 run near the start of the second half to go up 40-38, taking the lead on a basket by Daniel Mosley with 13:17 left.

OC clamped down defensively, not allowing the Mustangs to score again for almost four minutes, and the Eagles eased back ahead for good at 42-40 on a layup by York Benjamin with 10:38 left. Consecutive 3-pointers by Johnson pushed the Eagles' lead to 50-43 with 8:27 left, and a traditional three-point play by D.J. Walter made it 53-45 with 7:44 left, matching OC's largest lead.

Midwestern State didn't go away, though. The Mustangs kept chipping away at OC's lead and were within 59-57 after a 3-pointer by Elijah Lee with 1:06 left. Johnson hit two free throws with 24.8 seconds left to make it 61-57 before another 3-pointer, this one by D'monta Harris, pulled the Mustangs within 61-60 with 16.5 seconds left.

The Mustangs fouled Johnson before OC could inbound the ball and he hit two more free throws. Lienhard secured Lee's miss at the other end and hit the front end of a two-shot free-throw opportunity.

"Will likes being in that clutch situation at the end," Talley said. "He stepped up and did what a senior would do."

OC's only other player to reach double figures in points was Dedrian Parmer Jr., who had 10 points but struggled enough with his shot (going 4 of 16) that the senior forward decided to put in a lot of individual postgame work, alone in the Eagles' Nest.

Harris led the Mustangs with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jalin Brown added 14 point and six rebounds.

The Eagles will face another divisional rival at home on Saturday at 4 p.m., when in-state rival Cameron will visit. The Aggies are coming off a dramatic 70-68 win at Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday night.

Kendre Talley discusses the game: https://youtu.be/9QRuGEtsNd8

Game highlights: https://youtu.be/kpTA1Eupi7I