OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 15, 2020) – Oklahoma Christian has become known throughout Lone Star Conference men's basketball circles for its ferocious zone defense and the Eagles used it to make a huge defensive stand in the final seconds Saturday afternoon against Lubbock Christian (Texas).

OC forced the Chaparrals to a pair of missed shots in the final 14.7 seconds, allowing the Eagles to hang on for a 69-68 win in the Eagles' Nest over a team that entered the game tied for fourth in the LSC.

The win propelled OC (9-13, 8-10 LSC) into sole possession of ninth place in the league standings, a half-game ahead of Texas-Permian Basin and St. Mary's (Texas) and a game ahead of Eastern New Mexico and Arkansas-Fort Smith. The top 12 teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the LSC's postseason tournament.

With St. Mary's and UAFS also posting wins on Saturday, the pressure was on for the Eagles to match and they came through thanks in good part to the backcourt tandem of Aubrey Johnson, who scored 25 points on 7-of-13 3-point shooting, and Johnatan Reyes-Valdez, who recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 assists.

The win "came at a really good time," OC coach Kendre Talley said. "At this point in the season, everybody is fighting for placement and trying to make the conference tournament. The guys knew that it was a big game and we ended up doing a good job of executing against a very well-coached team.

"We leaned on our defense a lot. Johnatan had a double-double and he did a really good job at controlling the pace of the game, knowing when and when not to push it. That's what he's capable of."

Lubbock Christian (15-8, 12-6) hit six of its first seven shots to jump to a 14-7 lead, but OC went on a 24-10 run and led 31-24 after a 3-pointer by Johnson with 4:26 left in the first half. He hit another right before the buzzer to give the Eagles a 36-32 halftime lead.

The Chaparrals twice regained the lead in the second half and were up 50-45 after consecutive 3-pointers by Ty Caswell and Parker Hicks, the latter with 13:34 left. D.J. Walter started a 20-5 run for the Eagles with a 3-pointer and when he split a pair of free throws with 3:47 left, the Eagles were up 65-55.

But Lubbock Christian made a final push and pulled within 67-65 on a layup by Aamer Muhammad with 1:15 left. Marcus Blackwell answered with his only basket of the game, an 8-foot floater with 41.4 seconds left, to make it 69-65, but Lloyd Daniels hit a second-chance 3-pointer for the Chaparrals with 17.6 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Officials whistled Blackwell for a travel with 14.7 seconds left. During Lubbock Christian's final possession, Muhammad and Hicks both missed long-range jumpers before time expired during a scramble for the loose ball after Hicks' miss.

Daniels scored 19 points and Hicks had 15 for the Chaparrals. OC center Will Lienhard, who leads the LSC in rebounding, had 10 boards to go with eight points.

OC will play a pair of big road games next week at in-state rival Cameron on Thursday and Midwestern State (Texas) on Saturday. The Eagles will close their season at home on Feb. 27 against Texas A&M-Commerce and Feb. 29 against Texas-Tyler.

Kendre Talley discusses the game: https://youtu.be/I969i4CMxPA