OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 18, 2020) – Youth and first-game jitters looked to be Oklahoma Christian's worst enemy on Friday in the Eagles' Nest.

The new-look Eagles – with a starting lineup that included one senior, two freshmen and four newcomers to the program – struggled with their rhythm early, fell into a hole and never quite climbed out of it, allowing Lubbock Christian (Texas) to pull away for an 82-70 win in the season opener for both basketball teams.

OC (0-1, 0-1 Lone Star Conference) never led against LCU (1-0, 1-0) as the Chaparrals – who just missed qualifying for last season's NCAA Division II tournament – outrebounded the Eagles 43-34. LCU had two players record double-doubles, including Parker Hicks, a transfer from Texas Tech who had 24 points (on 10-of-14 shooting) and 13 rebounds.

"We've got a really young group," OC coach Kendre Talley said. "It was the first time playing a college game for a lot of them, and then you're playing against a team with a lot of experience, that doesn't let a lot of teams come back on them. I am proud of the effort they put out. We were playing against a top-three team in our conference."

There were a few bright spots for the Eagles, for sure. Freshman point guard Elijah Elliott poured in 21 points to go with four assists and improved as the game progressed, finishing 8 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 11 from 3-point range. Another freshman, Marco Foster, added 16 points while hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Yet another freshman, Nyk Madison, added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

But as a team, the Eagles shot just 40.9 percent (27 of 66) from the field, compared to 49.2 percent (32 of 65) for Lubbock Christian.

"I think we did a really good job, but we've got to get in there tomorrow, though, and get comfortable," Talley said. "We had a lot of nerves and everything today. I'm glad they got to actually feel what it's like. Hopefully we can come back and play better tomorrow."

After a seven-week delay to the start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Talley said he was just happy his team now has the chance to play.

"It's a blessing to be out here," he said. "More than myself, I'm happy for (my players). We're living day-to-day, week-to-week, just hoping that (virus) tests come back negative and that the other team's tests come back negative. It's just a blessing to be able to come out here and actually compete."

The first half followed a familiar sequence – the Chaparrals would build a lead and OC would rally to either tie the game (three times) or pull within a point or two, but the Eagles never could get over the hump and go ahead.

Lubbock Christian led 39-33 at halftime. The Eagles started the second half well, with a dunk by Madison in the first 10 seconds, followed by a 3-pointer by Elliott to pull OC within 39-38. But Lloyd Daniels answered with 11 straight points (nine on a trio of 3-pointers) as the Chaparrals rebuilt their lead to 50-42 with 15:51 left. Daniels finished with 26 points to lead Lubbock Christian.

The Chaparrals led 60-46 with 11:44 left before a 12-2 run by OC, with Madison's put-back bringing the Eagles within 64-58 with 8:19 left. Rowan Mackenzie, who had 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, answered with a 3-pointer for LCU and Cameron Copley (who had nine assists) added another basket to push the Chaparrals' advantage to 69-58.

OC went more than five minutes without scoring, allowing Lubbock Christian's lead to balloon to 78-61 before three late 3-pointers (two by Elliott, one by Foster) made the final score more respectable.

"I feel like I played OK, but I've got to play better to lead my team to victory," Elliott said. "We're a new team and we're learning how to hoop with each other. We've just got to lock in, focus on the game plan and close out on the shooters tomorrow."

OC and Lubbock Christian will play again on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.