Oklahoma City, Okla. - Oklahoma Christian (5-7, 1-5 LSC) and UT Tyler (6-3, 2-3 LSC) didn't let the final game of 2022 go down easy in a wild game in the Nest.
The Patriots jumped out to an early 9-4 lead before
Drew Tennial scored 12 of his 17 points to lift the Eagles to a strong performance, taking a 33-28 lead into the break.
Moun'Tae Edmundson and
Nyk Madison each added 6 points to boost the Eagles. The Eagles defense forced five steals in the first half that led to 9 points to take away UTT's early momentum.
To open the second half, the Eagles took their largest lead of the night, 41-33, after a
Karlyn Kenner fast-break layup. But the rest of the half was a dogfight as OC continued to try to keep UTT at bay, but Tyler kept fighting back.
The Eagles consistently held 6–8-point leads in the half before the Patriots went on a late run to take the lead at 54-52 with four minutes to go.
D.J. Walter countered the run with five straight points of his own to regain a 57-56 advantage for OC. After the teams traded a pair of free throws and some layups, the Eagles led 62-59, but a Patriots three with 13 seconds remaining tied the game, sending it to overtime.
Oklahoma Christian jumped out to a 6-point lead in overtime thanks to a pair of threes from Edmundson and Kenner, but UT Tyler closed the first overtime on a 6-0 run to force the second overtime.
In the second overtime, Edmundson and the Eagles throttled the Patriots, 17-6, to win 87-76. Edmundson had 8 of his game-high 24 points in the second overtime to carry OC past UTT.
The Eagles will open the new year with a New Year's Day matinee against Dallas Baptist, which currently sits second in the Lone Star conference standings. Tip-off is set at 3 p.m. in the Nest on Sunday afternoon.
Notable performances
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Moun'Tae Edmundson: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists
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Drew Tennial: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
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Karlyn Kenner: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
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D.J. Walter: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
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Nyk Madison: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
