Photo by: Will Gentry
The Oklahoma Christian University basketball programs closed out their regular season games on a high note.
Thursday night the men’s and women’s teams traveled to Wichita, Kan. to face Newman University, and on Saturday the teams traveled to Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) to close out the weekend on the road.
“I am really pleased that our hard work is finally translating into wins,” Head Coach of Men’s Basketball Dan Hays said. “VanDeKop and Moon have been steadily contributing, but our younger guys and bench players have improved and worked hard to up their level of play, and it shows on the board now.”
The Eagles topped Newman with a final score of 86-83 to complete a season sweep of the Jets, but the Lady Eagles fell Thursday with a score of 50-49 in their first loss to Newman in their last seven meetings.
The Eagles topped Newman in rebounds 36-29 and shot 52.8 percent in the field, as five players logged double digits.
Senior Kendre Talley, with 24 points against Newman, led the Heartland Conference in scoring, assists and steals after Thursday’s game. Talley had four assists and made all 12 of his attempted free throws.
Freshman John Moon was second in point standings against Newman with 19 points and 11 rebounds, giving him his third double-double of the season. Junior Nick Tate contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Jordan VanDeKop had 12 points and junior Willie Harper finished with 10 points.
“We put pressure on them hard Thursday because we knew home court advantage can be the key for teams,” VanDeKop said. “We got steals when we could and just kept pushing in during transitions for easy offensive plays. As a team, we never let up and came in strong from the bench making shots and got a win over a good team.”
The women sang a different tune Thursday night, falling to the Lady Jets in a close loss with a final score of 50-49.
The Lady Eagles shot 55.6 percent in free throws and 33.3 percent from the field, weakening the offensive presence for Oklahoma Christian against Newman.
Sophomore Sydney Hill finished the game with a point total of 14, and senior Roz Hamilton had 11 points for the Lady Eagles against Newman.
The Lady Eagles had come off a 12-day break that affected their rhythm, making it difficult for the players to connect on the court with their usual style.
“It was hard to really hit our groove Thursday night coming off of that break,” freshman McKenzie Stanford said. “We did all right on defense, but we could have done better. We just could not get to where we normally played on the court, and I really think it was because of how long it had been since we played.”
The Lady Eagles held on to the lead going into the half, but they gave away 15 turnovers during the second half, which proved costly.
Saturday at OPSU, Oklahoma Christian worked out the kinks from Thursday to pull out a win over the Aggies with a final score of 84-75, as junior Logan McKee posted her second double-double of the season.
“Everything just went smoothly on Saturday,” Stanford said. “We worked through what was not clicking on Thursday, and it was great. Logan [McKee] was awesome with 16 points and it’s good to see her do so well because she’s a great leader for our team on and off the court.”
The Lady Eagles came out against OPSU, recording 28-34 on free throws, with Hamilton going 10 for 10 at the line for Oklahoma Christian.
“We were able to put a whole game together against Panhandle but struggled against Newman,” freshman Emma Gade said. “We are going to be in the gym, shooting and going over scouting reports, because we are playing good team basketball and need to keep that going into the postseason.”
Stanford had 14 points on Saturday and combined with four other Lady Eagles, Hamilton (12 points), McKee, Hill (13) and Stevens (12) to reach double digits in points.
The Lady Eagles also lead the Heartland Conference in rebounds with a 51-26 advantage over opponents.
“Thursday we played well defensively against Newman but didn’t control the turnovers,” Stevens said. “Saturday we hit our shots and made free throws unlike Thursday, converting on offense and controlling on defense. We are focusing on one game at a time and coming out on our best. In the postseason, there is no guarantee of a game tomorrow, so we just have to put it all out there every time.”
The men’s basketball team topped OPSU Saturday as well, with a final score of 83-79. Moon had 18 points for the Eagles, Tate came away with 14 against OPSU and Talley took a leadership role on the court Saturday in moving the ball around, finishing with 10 assists and seven points.
Harper achieved the second-highest point total of his career, going 6 for 12 in 3-pointers on Saturday.
Both squads plan to recreate their 2013 postseason success. The men were the NCCAA national runner-ups, while the women took fourth place in the tournament.
“As a team, we have to stay hungry and keep working,” VanDeKop said. “We cannot really take a day off. We will keep working and keep shooting to get ready for regionals. It is nice coming off of three wins, and I feel confident coming in to this tournament.”
The Eagles will host the National Christian College Athletic Association Central Region tournament at Oklahoma Christian March 11 to March 15.
The Lady Eagles are scheduled to travel to Bartlesville, Okla. for the women’s NCCAA Region Tournament from March 12 to March 15.
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