OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 23, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian men's basketball coach Kendre Talley has spoken all season about how his young team has continually gained knowledge and grown in maturity during what's been a disjointed season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Eagles put that maturity on display on Tuesday night in the Eagles' Nest, holding on to a narrow lead through the entire second half and making the plays necessary in the final minutes to seal a 76-70 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.

The win gave OC (5-11, 5-11 Lone Star Conference) a season sweep over Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-10, 4-10) for the first time since the Eagles began competing in NCAA Division II with the 2012-13 season. It also was indicative how the Eagles, after a 1-8 start, didn't give up and instead have continued to improve, even as the season enters its final week.

Four Eagles scored in double figures, with junior D.J. Walter contributing 15 points and eight rebounds, freshman Elijah Elliott 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, freshman Marco Foster 14 points (all in the first half) and seven assists and senior Anthony Johnson 11 points and seven rebounds.

"One of the toughest things to do is to beat a team twice (in a season)," Talley said. "These guys, today I told them, we've been playing lately like we have something to prove. I told them we're good enough. We have enough talent to get stuff done. They've just got to believe in themselves. Today we just played fearless. We didn't care about making mistakes. We just wanted to play tougher and that's what they did for 40 minutes."

The Eagles never trailed by more than a point against UAFS and took the lead for good on a follow shot by Johnson with 11 seconds left in the first half that gave them a 34-32 halftime lead.

OC's lead fluxuated between one and eight points for the first 14½ minutes of the second half, as the Lions kept the game close but never regained the advantage. OC was ahead 65-59 with 5:24 left when Donovan Reagan hit a 10-foot baseline jumper and Elliott followed with a three-point play to make it 70-59 with 4:52 left.

The Lions didn't go away, though, and pulled within 71-66 on a 12-foot jumper by Matthew Wilson with 1:36 left. OC led 72-66 in the final minute when Foster came up with a steal and fed Johnson for a monster slam with 28 seconds left that pushed the lead back to eight points and essentially sealed the verdict.

"It's maturity and playmaking," Talley said. "If we share the ball and value every possession, every stat sheet could look like this, where we have multiple guys scoring in double figures."

Added Walter: "I think we did a really good job of locking in (defensively) … We got some crucial stops and got what we wanted on the offensive end. It really showed how we're maturing as a team with getting what we want on the offensive end and not settling. We're a young team and we're all learning together and we're getting better each and every game."

Payton Brown led Arkansas-Fort Smith with 24 points, while Wilson and Chris Rollins had 15 each, with Rollins adding 13 rebounds. But the rest of the Lions combined for only 16 points.

OC will close the regular season on Friday and Saturday by hosting St. Mary's (Texas).