OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 29, 2020) – Needing a win to qualify for the Lone Star Conference basketball tournament, Oklahoma Christian didn't exactly play like a desperate team in the first half Saturday against Texas-Tyler.

OC allowed the Patriots to build a 17-point lead, but behind the sizzling outside shooting of senior guard Aubrey Johnson, the Eagles roared back for a 65-59 win in the Eagles' Nest that sealed a postseason bid in their first season in the LSC. Johnson hit seven 3-pointers – five in the second half – to finish with 28 points and a season-high eight rebounds.

OC (10-16, 9-13 LSC) earned the No. 11 seed in the 12-team league tournament and will visit sixth-seeded Dallas Baptist (Texas) (20-8, 14-8) for a first-round game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. OC beat then-No. 10-ranked DBU 61-42 on Jan. 11 in Oklahoma City, but the Patriots ended OC's season each of the past two years in the Heartland Conference tournament.

After being picked 14th in the LSC preseason poll, OC coach Kendre Talley said it was his goal, and the goal of the Eagles, to make the tournament.

"When the preseason rankings came out … the guys took it personal, so (making the tournament) was our No. 1 goal," Talley said. "They knew if we won today, for sure, that we would be there. They responded well at halftime and we brought it home."

The Eagles shot just 27.6 percent (8 of 29) from the field in the first half and Texas-Tyler (8-19, 5-17) took full advantage, steadily building a lead that reached 32-15 after a steal and layup by Darius Alford (who scored a team-high 18 points) with 3:11 left in the first half. Texas-Tyler entered halftime with what seemed like a comfortable 36-23 lead.

But OC had other ideas. The Eagles scored the first seven points of the second half, then tied the game at 39-39 on a layup by Johnatan Reyes-Valdez with 12:04 left. The Patriots went back up 41-39 on a basket by J.T. Riddick – only his team's second field goal of the half – before Johnson swished a 3-pointer to give OC its first lead at 42-41 with 11:04 left.

The Eagles never trailed after that. Johnson hit two more 3-pointers in the next 90 seconds of playing time and two free throws with 7:14 left that gave the Eagles their biggest lead at 54-43.

Texas-Tyler pulled within five points five times after that, but every time, the Eagles scored to quell the threat. The Patriots missed three 3-point attempts in the final 1:36 before hitting a final 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left, but that only (again) pulled them within five at 64-59.

OC shot 57.1 percent (12 of 21) in the second half, including 6 of 11 (54.5 percent) from 3-point range, thanks in good part to Johnson.

"We made it a point to get the ball to him in the second half and the dude was lights-out tonight," Talley said of Johnson. "I'm happy for him. That's a good way to go out (at home).

"I think it was the nerves early on, but I've got to give a lot of credit to (the Patriots) – they made some shots early. We were uncharacteristic defensively in the first half and they got open shots from that. At halftime, we went in and made some adjustments, because they threw new stuff at us. The guys were just disciplined and we leaned on our defense. … Defense is what won us the game."

Dedrian Parmer Jr. had 15 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for OC, while Will Lienhard scored seven points to go with 10 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out with 4:32 left. Ty Glover scored 13 points for Texas-Tyler and Riddick grabbed 10 rebounds while also scoring six points.

The game was the final one at the Eagles' Nest for seven OC seniors – Johnson, Parmer Jr., Lienhard, Conner Johnson, Marcus Blackwell, James Bagwell and Travis Glover.

"We wouldn't be where we are this season without the senior leadership that we have," Talley said. "This is a very special group, a group that's been here and dedicated blood, sweat and tears into this program and they care about it. They represented it well today and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're going to do this postseason."

Kendre Talley discusses the game: https://youtu.be/VPJ9Gip-cWM