FORT SMITH, Ark. (Feb. 1, 2021) – Marco Foster came within an eyelash of matching, or breaking, a couple of longstanding, high-profile Oklahoma Christian basketball records on Monday night at the Stubblefield Center.

Foster's nine 3-pointers (in 15 attempts) and 29 points might have just missed marks held by OC hoops legends Jay Mauck and Kelly Jobe, but his performance proved quite enough to fuel the Eagles' 75-56 rout of Arkansas-Fort Smith, a result made more surprising considering OC had only eight available players for the game.

Foster, a freshman from Lancaster, Texas, helped extend what had been a two-point halftime lead for OC (3-8, 3-8 Lone Star Conference) over Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-5, 3-5) into a 26-point bulge with 6:22 left and the Eagles rode it out from there.

It was OC's first win at UAFS in nine attempts since the Eagles began competing at the NCAA Division II level with the 2012-13 season. The Eagles did win in Fort Smith in 1960, when UAFS was known as Fort Smith Junior College and OC was transitioning from a two-year into a four-year institution.

OC, which hadn't played since Jan. 19, now has won two straight games after a 1-8 start. All three of the Eagles' wins this season have been on the road.

Foster – who played all 40 minutes – had three 3-pointers in the first half at UAFS, the last 15 seconds before halftime, and OC led the Lions 37-35. He hit his fourth 3-pointer just 10 seconds into the second half and all of a sudden, the Eagles were off to the races. His fifth 3-pointer, with 15:02 left, put OC ahead by double digits at 47-37.

He hit two more 3-pointers, with 13:13 and 11:23 left, respectively, to build OC's lead to 56-41. At the 9:23 mark and the 8:52 mark, he hit again from behind the arc, and Mauck's OC record of 11 3-pointers in a game – set against Athens State (Ala.) on Dec. 6, 1997 – was in serious jeopardy.

But with OC ahead by 25 after Foster's ninth 3-pointer, the Eagles looked instead to run clock, and he took only two more shots from behind the arc, missing both. His 29 points were the second-most ever by an OC freshman, just three behind Jobe, who scored 32 points in one of the Eagles' most famous wins, a 90-76 win at NCAA Division I Memphis on Dec. 3, 1979.

He might have just missed OC records, but Foster's nine 3-pointers were the most in a game this season by any LSC player. The LSC's one-page online record book notes the league mark for 3-pointers in a game is 11, set by Shawn Williams of Central Oklahoma vs. Nebraska-Kearney in 1990 and matched by UCO's Marlon Dawson vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2001.

Foster was far from OC's only scoring standout against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Senior guard Anthony Johnson also played all 40 minutes and scored 19 points to go with seven rebounds, the same number as Foster grabbed. Junior guard Shem'mario Stephens added 15 points and six rebounds, while sophomore center Hunter Staten just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles shot 48.2 percent (27 of 56) from the field while limiting the Lions to 31.1 percent (19 of 61). Chris Rollins (11 points) and Matthew Wilson (10 points) were the only UAFS players to score in double figures.

OC is scheduled to host LSC rival Midwestern State (Texas) on Friday and Saturday.