LAWTON, Okla. (Jan. 9, 2021) – Anyone watching at Aggie Gym on Saturday could figure what Oklahoma Christian would do in the final seconds of a tied game in overtime against Cameron – give the ball to Elijah Elliott.

The freshman guard came through, driving nearly the length of the court before twisting through two defenders for a layup an instant before the final buzzer, giving the Eagles a 75-73 win over Cameron and a split of their two games against the Aggies this week.

The basket capped a 26-point game for Elliott, who played all 45 minutes for the shorthanded Eagles, who used only eight players. Another freshman, Nyk Madison, posted his first career double-double for OC (1-5, 1-5 Lone Star Conference) with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Yet another freshman, Marco Foster, added 13 points for the Eagles.

The win was the first of the season for the new-look Eagles, who began the campaign with only three healthy players who played significant minutes last season. It's been a challenge to develop chemistry with all of the newcomers while also dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic that has given the 2020-21 season a choppy feel, causing games to be postponed and making random players unavailable.

"The first one is always tough," OC coach Kendre Talley said. "Last year, it was tough because it was my first one. There was a lot of pressure on these guys because it was their first one. We're playing nine new guys and their first (win) together was tough to get. … I told them they needed to want it more and they wanted it bad."

Cameron (1-7, 1-7) led for much of the second half before Foster tied the game at 56-56 with a 3-pointer with 8:54 left. Elliott put the Eagles ahead 64-61 with two free throws with 2:19 left, but OC didn't score again in regulation. Andrew Nguyen's 3-pointer with 1:51 pulled Cameron even.

Marques Warrior Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity for the Aggies with 30 seconds left in regulation and OC held for a final shot, but Elliott left it short.

OC never trailed in overtime, but never pulled away, either. Twice, the Eagles were up by three points, the last time at 71-68 after Foster scored on a baseline drive with 2:22 left. A basket by Cameron's Connor Slater tied matters at 71-71 with 1:34 left.

Donovan Reagan hit a 16-foot jumper with 15.6 seconds left to put the Eagles back ahead, but Brock Schreiner – who led the Aggies with 21 points – scored on a driving layup through traffic to tie the game again with 5.6 seconds left.

After a timeout, Elliott took D.J. Walter's inbounds pass and pushed forward. He almost lost his dribble just as he entered the key, but quickly regained control and split two defenders before laying the ball softly off the glass from the right side. Officials reviewed the play with instant replay to confirm their initial ruling that Elliott's basket had beaten the buzzer.

"He had missed that first one (in regulation) and it was right there on the rim," Talley said. "I was for sure, with six seconds, that he could either get to the basket or draw a foul, because he draws a lot of them. He capitalized on it. These guys are still learning and figuring each other out.

"Those (young) guys have been stepping up and are coming into their own. I told them that I'm going to stop using that word 'young.' We're new. We're treating these guys like seniors and they're responding to it."

Kendall Scott added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Cameron, while Dalton Vinson had 10 points.

OC will play another LSC divisional rival this week, hosting Dallas Baptist (Texas) on Thursday before visiting DBU on Saturday.