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Eagles drop two games in conference play

Shooting 73.3 percent, or 11-15 from behind the 3-point arc, Dallas Baptist University pulled past the Oklahoma Christian University men’s basketball team 83-70 on Thursday in the Nest.

The Eagles headed into halftime with a 29-28 lead, after a 6-0 run to close out the first half. They expanded the lead with an early 12-2 run in the second half to build up a 45-38 advantage.

Oklahoma Christian led by seven with 14 minutes left in the half, but in the next eight minutes after, five different Patriots scored 10 3-pointers to force a 38-15 run by Dallas Baptist.

“We knew they were dangerous from the perimeter and they did a good job of getting open,” Head Coach Cory Cole said. “They took advantage of one of our weaknesses and it is frustrating.”

Four players for Oklahoma Christian scored in double figures. Senior John Moon posted his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while also matching his season high for blocked shots with five. This game moved him to 12th place on Oklahoma Christian’s all-time scoring list with 1,674 career points.

Senior Keilan Horton came back from missing two games with an injury to provide 15 points. Junior Marcus Mathieu and freshman Dorian Lopez both added 10 points for the Eagles.

Oklahoma Christian managed four total assists and nine turnovers during the game.

Against Lubbock Christian University on Saturday, the Eagles fell 75-72 in the final seconds of the game.

Official Grady Dale gave Cole two consecutive technical fouls after arguing a call and ejected him from the game with 12:56 left in the first half. Associate Head Coach Terril Hankins took over coaching for the remainder of the game.

Following Cole’s ejection, the Eagles never held the lead again as the Chaparrals tied the game 17-17, after making three of the four technical foul free throws.

Lubbock Christian held a 32-27 lead at halftime and went on an early 9-1 run to bring the score to 41-28. An 11-2 run by the Eagles pulled them back with a single possession, 45-42.

With 8:29 remaining in the game the Eagles were within 54-52 before falling behind again. Oklahoma Christian remained within single digits the remainder of the game. With 2.9 seconds left in the game, sophomore Jordan Box nailed a 3-pointer to bring the Eagles back within 73-72.

The Eagles fouled to extend the clock, but after the Chaparrals hit their free-throws to seal the game.

Mathieu scored a career-best 21 points and junior Elijah Strickland, added 20. Lopez and Moon both had 10 points for the Eagles.

This was the first game since the opening game of his sophomore season that Moon didn’t have a blocked shot, snapping his Oklahoma Christian record of consecutive games with a blocked shot at 69. Moon is the Heartland Conference career record holder for blocks with 208 and ranks third on Oklahoma Christian’s list, which former player Micah Miles tops with 229.

The Eagles will return to the Nest on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as they host Newman University.

Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information Office.

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