SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 10, 2022) – Oklahoma Christian was not having its best night shooting free throws on Thursday at St. Mary's (Texas), but in the final minute, the Eagles were perfect from the line. As a result, they left Bill Greehey Arena as winners.

Drew Tennial and Moun'Tae Edmundson combined to go 6 of 6 from the line in the final 57 seconds and the Eagles also came up with two key defensive stops during that time span, lifting them past St. Mary's 84-79, a potentially huge result for a team jockeying for a Lone Star Conference tournament berth.

OC (8-14, 4-7 LSC) moved into 12th place in the league standings, which would be the final qualifying spot for the tournament if the basketball season ended today. St. Mary's (10-10, 7-4), which dropped its third straight game, had entered the game in fourth place in the LSC and fell to fifth with the loss. OC now owns road wins this season over two top-five LSC teams, having earlier won at Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Nyk Madison scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and Edmundson had 19 points and six assists for OC, which shot a season-best 55.4 percent (31 of 56) from the field while recording its second straight win at St. Mary's.

The Rattlers led 43-40 at halftime and 45-40 early in the second half, but a 26-9 run surge by OC gave the Eagles a 66-54 lead with 10:11 left. But just when it looked like OC might run away from the Rattlers, St. Mary's rallied and tied the game at 72-72 on a 3-pointer by Kobe Magee with 5:51 left.

St. Mary's finally went back ahead at 79-78 on a dunk by Josh Brewer with 57 seconds left. Those proved to be the Rattlers' final points.

On OC's next possession, Tennial drew a foul from Ryan Leonard. Tennial, who had missed his first three free throws of the game, knocked down both to regain the lead for the Eagles. Brewer missed a 3-point attempt at the other end and Edmundson rebounded, then made two more free throws with 13 seconds left, making it 82-79.

Leonard air-balled a potential tying 3-pointer for St. Mary's with :04 left and the ball sailed out of bounds, giving OC possession. Edmundson made two more free throws moments later to seal the win for the Eagles, who finished 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) from the free-throw line for the game.

Tennial finished with 14 points and six rebounds for OC, while Justin Nimmer added 10 points off the bench. Mamady Djikine had 17 points, Leonard had 16 and Magee had 15 to lead the Rattlers.

OC will visit St. Edward's (Texas) on Saturday before returning home to face Texas-Permian Basin next Thursday.