The momentum the Eagles carried into Thursday’s game from recent victory against Lubbock vanished as the team lost by a 10-point margin against Newman University.
Sophomore Jordan Rutherford said he felt confident before the game due to the team’s win last weekend against formerly undefeated Lubbock Christian University.
“After Saturday I feel like we had a lot of good things going for us,” Rutherford said. “We had a good week [of practice] and we’re trying to continue off of Saturday’s win and keep it going.”
Oklahoma Christian University kept pace with the Jets at the start of the game as it took the tipoff and John Moon made a layup to put the Eagles on the board first.
The Eagles kept the lead until eight minutes left in the first half, when both teams tied at 12 points and the Jets pulled away for the remainder of the game.
According to Head Coach Dan Hays, the team played sharp against Lubbock Christian but didn’t find that edge for Newman.
“I felt we were a little out of sync tonight,” Hays said. “I thought we weren’t mentally into things and I think our bunch might have felt a little sense of security that we really don’t have.”
The Eagles shot with 40.6 percent accuracy during the first half, allowing them to closely trail Newman, who led 35-28 at the beginning of the second half. While the Eagles maintained their shooting accuracy at 40 percent through the game, the Jets increased their accuracy from 40 percent to nearly 47 percent in the second half.
Moon led Oklahoma Christian with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, along with one block and one steal. Elijah Strickland added 13 points to the board, recorded six rebounds and sunk three shots from behind the arch.
Jordan Box hit double-digits with 11 points, including shooting 3-3 at the free-throw line, and Rutherford contributed seven points for the Eagles.
In the second half the Eagles almost matched the Jets basket-for-basket. The Eagles scored 34 points against the Jets’ 37. But despite the close game the Eagles grew tired near the end and the final score showed 72-62 in Newman’s favor.
After the game, Hays said the team worked hard and will continue to do so in Saturday’s game despite not having Eric Randall and Zach Norris on the court.
“Here we are, always struggling to get our full rotation [of team members] and we haven’t had that all year long,” Hays said. “Is it an excuse? Yes. Is it reality? Yes.”
The Eagles will host Dallas Baptist University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
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