OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 19, 2020) – Lubbock Christian (Texas) used a similar formula on Saturday afternoon to record its second win over Oklahoma Christian in as many days.

OC hung with LCU for a half before the Chaparrals hit OC with four uppercuts from 3-point range early in the second half. The Eagles never recovered as Lubbock Christian eventually won 80-67 to complete a season-opening sweep in the Eagles' Nest.

In a basketball season already delayed six weeks by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eagles had to wait still another week after last week's games at Texas A&M International were postponed, meaning they had the misfortune of having to open against LCU (2-0, 2-0 Lone Star Conference), a team picked third in the league's preseason poll.

With nine newcomers (and only three returnees) still learning how to play together, OC (0-2, 0-2) simply couldn't match the Chaparrals' experience and firepower on Friday or Saturday. In 80 minutes of hoops, OC led for all of three minutes, six seconds.

Lubbock Christian "is a hard team to open up with," OC coach Kendre Talley said. "We're playing against a team that returns everybody and has some big-time starters. It was just tough on us. I think we did a good job of adjusting today. It was a two-point game at halftime. We just couldn't get over that hump. We got close and then made a few mistakes. But we're getting better. We're just taking it game by game."

Lubbock Christian outrebounded the Eagles 39-30, with Gonzalo Corbalen grabbing 10 boards to go with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting. (He also hit all seven of his free throws.) The Chaparrals shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) from the field, compared to 43.6 percent (24 of 55) for OC. LCU sizzled from 3-point range, hitting 9 of 16 (56.3 percent), while OC made just 4 of 14 (28.6 percent).

OC took its only lead on Saturday on a rare four-point play by senior guard Anthony Johnson, which put the Eagles up 10-6 at the 13:23 mark of the first half. Aamer Muhammad put the Chaparrals back ahead 14-13 with a 3-pointer with 10:17 left in the half and they never trailed again.

LCU led 31-22 with 5:22 left in the first half but didn't score again in the half, allowing OC to pull within 31-29 by halftime. But in the first 5:12 of the second half, the Chaparrals hit four 3-pointers – two by Rowan McKenzie and one each by Parker Hicks and Cameron Copley, with Hicks' making it 45-34.

OC came no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Johnson, a senior guard, led OC with 17 points, while freshman Nyk Madison just missed a double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman guard Elijah Elliott added 11 points.

"The good thing is, these guys have a couple of games under their belts and they're figuring each other out," Talley said. "That was the big thing that I was happy about, is the chemistry that's starting to get built. There were a couple of strides within the game where you could just kind of see those guys are clicking. … I'm excited about the group, especially when you have those freshmen contributing."

Hicks finished with 17 points for Lubbock Christian, while Lloyd Daniels added 11 points. Cameron Copley added seven points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

The Eagles won't play again until Jan. 2-3, when they will visit Angelo State (Texas), the team picked in the LSC preseason poll to finish second. OC's next home game will be Jan. 7 against in-state rival Cameron.

Kendre Talley discusses the game: https://youtu.be/hn4nFMtTdgo