OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 27, 2021) – Try as it might, Oklahoma Christian just couldn't quite ever take the lead in the final 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon against St. Mary's (Texas), as the Rattlers just kept hanging on and hanging on.

St. Mary's held on long enough to be able to pull away in the final two minutes for an 83-76 win over the Eagles in the season finale for both basketball teams in the Eagles' Nest, giving the Rattlers a split of their two games at OC.

OC (6-12, 6-12) capped a season in which it started 1-8 but recorded five wins over its final nine games. Coach Kendre Talley had hoped his team would finish on a three-game winning streak, but said the Eagles just made too many mistakes.

"We didn't play very well," Talley said. "They didn't do anything special or anything different. We just didn't play very well. We missed a lot of shots and missed some free throws. We had opportunities to win the game and we just didn't. We missed shots and didn't make plays when we should have."

A big factor for St. Mary's (4-9, 4-8) was free throws. The Rattlers were solid, making 26 of 30 attempts (86.7 percent) while OC went 14 of 23 (60.9 percent) from the line. That helped offset the fact OC made five more baskets (29 to 24) than did the Rattlers.

Tyler Caron made 11 of 12 free throws en route to a 23-point, 10-rebound performance for St. Mary's, while Caleb Jordan had 17 points and six assists and Mamady Djikine added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Two freshman led the Eagles – Marco Foster with 20 points and seven rebounds and Nyk Madison with 17 points and six rebounds. Another freshman, Elijah Elliott, had seven points, eight assists and four steals.

OC closed the first half on a 7-0 burst, with Elliott's layup at the buzzer putting the Eagles ahead 38-36. St. Mary's coach Jim Zeleznak protested a no-call at the other end (before Elliott scored) so vociferously that officials issued him a technical foul after the half ended, and OC took advantage, with Foster hitting two free throws to open the half and Madison following with a basket to put the Eagles up 42-36.

St. Mary's responded with a 17-3 run to go up 55-48 with 14:07 left. OC took its final lead at 56-55 after consecutive baskets by Shem'mario Stephens, the latter with 11:46 left. Jaron Presley buried two 3-pointers for the Rattlers to put them back ahead and they never trailed again – but they also never led by more than five points until the final moments.

OC pulled even at 71-71 with 4:28 left on a 3-pointer by Foster, but Caron and Jordan each hit a pair of free throws, the latter with 3:17 left. The Eagles were within 77-75 after a reverse layup by Madison with 2:17 left, but he missed a subsequent free throw and OC managed only one point the rest of the way. St. Mary's went 4 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 31.9 seconds to seal its win.

OC finished 13th among 15 teams in the LSC's point-rating system, instituted for this season because teams didn't play balanced schedules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of now, the Eagles figure to return nearly their whole roster except for senior reserve forward Harrison Martin, who was honored Saturday on Senior Day and earned his first career start. They also should have two key players returning – senior point guard Jonathan Reyes-Valdez and sophomore Lamarcus Donahue, who missed all or most of this season due to injury.

"We still played hard," Talley said. "I'm disappointed we lost and all of that, but it's just tough when you don't get practice time (because of COVID-19). It's just part of basketball. My main point to (my players) today is, the foundation is laid. We know that we can be a very competitive team in this league. Once that foundation is there, all you have to do is build. We just have to continue to improve."