Tyler, Texas – The Oklahoma Christian Eagles (8-13, 4-11) competed in a tough basketball game against the University of Texas-Tyler (9-9, 5-9), and fell just short by a score of 66-63, favoring the Patriots.
The Eagles and Patriots began the game with UTT making a layup and Mount'Tae Edmundson drilling a 3-pointer. Leading 9-5, the Eagles got the ball to Edmundson, and he put in the layup off the assist from DJ Walter to make the score 11-5 heading into the first media timeout at the 15:06 mark. Out of the media timeout, Drew Tennial grabbed a steal and put in a layup followed by a three from UTT to continue the fast pace game of scoring among the two teams. Free UTT brought the game back to a one point deficit before Antonio Gordon put in a layup to make the score 15-12 with 10:49 left in the first half. As time continued to move, the Eagles slowed the play down, which led to less possessions between both squads. With 7:52 left in the first half, the score was 20-18 in favor of the Eagles. Both teams all of a sudden struggled to get anything past the other's defense, which led to a low scoring affair late in the first half. Hunter Staten was able to create some space, lay the ball in off the assist from Tennial, and go to the line for an and-1 opportunity for the Eagles. This pushed the score to 26-23, with the Eagles still in control going into the last media timeout of the first half. As the half drew to a close, the Eagles were down by 4 after some big shots from the Patriots. Drew Tennial grabbed a rebound and was fouled, which sent him to the charity stripe. He sank both of the free throws, which meant the Eagles were down by just 2 heading into halftime.
Coming out in the second half, both teams played at a quick pace to try to get some easy buckets. For a few moments, both teams succeeded in their objective. But, for the next 3 and a half minutes of game time, no one could get any offense rolling. With play stopping with 15:52 on the clock, the score was 38-34 in favor of the Patriots. Both teams continued a drought of scoring until the Patriots were able to hit two shots before the 12 minute mark in the second half. Antonio Gordon decided to make his presence known and put in a basket with 11:44 on the clock to give the Eagles their first bucket in several minutes. With 9:55 the Eagles were moving down the court and Shane Perales was fouled, which sent him to the free throw line. He would put in both shots, which would give the Eagles their first lead of the second half. The Patriots would respond with a bucket of their own, and the battle was beginning to heat up. As the teams went into the media timeout with 5:15 on the clock, OC was down 4, and once again, Anotonio Gordon hit two big free throws to cut the lead to 2. Later on in the second half, the Eagles continued to bring the game within 1 to 2 points, but just could not quite find the answer to keeping the lead. Then, Karlyn Kenner would get a steal and Antonio Gordon would throw it down to bring the game to 1 with a score of 55-54, favoring the Patriots. At the 2:20 mark, Drew Tennial would hit a huge 3pt to tie the game up at 57, and then the Patriots would hit a 3pt of their own, which would continue this back-and-forth play between both teams. At 1:00 left to play, Tennial would hit a layup to make the score 59-60, and hit his and-1 free throw to tie the game at 60. UTT would then hit a layup with 36 seconds left, and the Eagles needed a big basket from someone. Kenner drew a foul, hit his first free throw. He would not be successful on his second try, and UTT would grab the rebound. After trading free throws, the Eagles were unable to come out on top, and would fall to the Patriots, 66-63.
Next Up
The Eagles will be back home to defend the Nest on Thursday, February 2nd, at 7:00pm, as they face Texas-A&M University - Kingsville.
Notable Performances
Drew Tennial: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Antonio Gordon: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5/7 free throws
Shane Perales: 8 points, 2 assists, 1 steal
DJ Walter: 6 points, 4 assists, 3 steals
