EDMOND, Okla. - Oklahoma Christian will play its first road game in over a month when the Eagles head to Laredo, Texas, to take on Texas A&M International Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Two days later, OC will take on the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m.

EAGLE OUTLOOK (5-7, 2-5 LSC)
Following two straight conference victories to close 2024, Oklahoma Christian has dropped its last two such games, most recently against then-No. 10 DBU. After the Eagles made it a one-point game at halftime, the Patriots' suffocating defense proved too much, leaving the Sooner State with the 92-77 victory.

The most consistent contributor from the two games was Bryce Kennedy as he averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds per game, serving as the only Eagle to score in double figures in both outings. Kennedy is currently 30th in the league at 12.1 points per game while shooting 63.7 percent from the floor. The senior forward is currently riding a four-game double figure scoring streak.

Marco Foster scored a season-high 28 points in the first game of 2025 against UT Tyler, serving as the most points he has scored since his freshman year with Oklahoma Christian. Foster is 41 points away from 1000 points for his college career. With the help of Foster and Kennedy, OC is sixth in the LSC with 77.2 points per game. Scoring the basketball has been key for the maroon-and-gold as they are 3-1 when scoring at least 80 points and 2-6 when scoring less than 80.

The Eagles are 9-12 all-time against International, with last season's meeting in Laredo featuring a TAMIU 19-point second-half lead before OC fought all the way back before eventually falling, 64-60. Oklahoma Christian has won three straight against Kingsville, including last year's one-point victory thanks to a Nickolas Traylor and-1 with five seconds remaining in regulation.  

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (7-9, 2-5 LSC)
Texas A&M International brings its 5-2 home record into Thursday's matchup with Oklahoma Christian. The Dustdevils are 2-1 on their home floor in conference play, including a one-point victory against Eastern New Mexico, while their one loss came against previously-ranked West Texas A&M, 66-65. When playing at home, TAMIU is holding teams to 59.57 points per game.

International leans heavily on their defense, owning the second best scoring defense in the conference at 64.4 points per game. Meanwhile, TAMIU's offense is only producing 64.6 points per game, which is last in the league. With only one player averaging in double figures, Anthony Ignowski (10.4 ppg) has recorded three 20-point games but also has been held below 10 points eight times, including in each of his last three games.   

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (6-7, 2-5 LSC)
Saturday will only be Texas A&M-Kingsville's fourth home conference game of the season. As of Wednesday, Jan. 8, TAMUK is 1-1 at home against LSC competition, with its win coming against then-No. 2 West Texas A&M, 65-60. Following that statement victory, however, the Javelinas have dropped three straight by an average of 10 points per game.

Kingsville comes into this weekend's pair of games with the 12th ranked scoring offense (69.3 ppg) and 12th ranked scoring defense (73.6 ppg) in the conference. A large chunk on TAMUK's offense comes from graduate student Isaiah Payne, who is averaging 16.3 points while the next highest scorer is seeing just 9.8 points. Payne has scored at least 15 points in seven straight games, during which he has also recorded four 20-point outings.