Photo by: Will Gentry
Senior point guard Kendre Talley walked onto Langston University’s campus an enemy Friday night. By the end of the contest, however, Lion fans sent Talley away with a standing ovation – an undeniable exhibition of the respect he earned.
Talley scored 32 points in the Oklahoma Christian University victory, shooting 12-14 from the field. Impressive enough as it is alone, Talley also had seven assists, pulled down nine rebounds and also recorded seven steals.
The Eagles defeated the Lions 83-69. Oklahoma Christian held a 20-point lead going into the half, but Langston was able to cut the lead down in the second half by playing some helter-skelter defense. The Lions outscored the Eagles by 6 in the second half, but that was not enough to overcome the large deficit.
The Eagles raced out to a quick lead thanks to hot shooting and controlled offense. Talley had 15 of his 32 points in the first half, and junior forward Nick Tate poured in 12 points to help the Eagles to a large halftime lead.
With 15 minutes left in the game, Talley scored to give the Eagles a 22-point lead – their largest lead of the night.
The Eagles would go almost four minutes without scoring a basket, allowing Langston to build an 8-0 run, cutting the lead to 71-62.
Oklahoma Christian made the most of some late Langston fouls, hitting free throws down the stretch to pull away from the Lions.
For the Eagles, the victory advanced them to 3-0 on the year. The Eagles’ 83 points was the lowest score the team had put up this season, averaging 104 points through two games.
Their 83-point performance would seem much higher after the Eagles took on the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos Tuesday night at the Nest.
The Eagles shot a record low 16 percent from the 3-point line, and managed to shoot 30 percent from the field for the game. Going 2-12 from behind the arc in both halves proved to be the deciding factor in the game.
Freshman center John Moon gave credit to the Broncho defense in bringing the Eagles’ streak of high-scoring games to an abrupt halt.
“UCO’s defense played a part in it,” Moon said. “They did their best to keep our guards under control with their defensive schemes and like Coach Hays said, we let it affect us mentally.”
The Eagles started well, with Tate knocking down an early 3-pointer and Talley scoring a layup in the first three minutes of the game. At that point, the Eagles looked just as they had their first three games of the season, with their offense rolling early.
After the Talley layup, the Bronchos would go on an 8-0 run, taking a lead they never surrendered.
With eight minutes left in the first half, the Eagles tied the game up at 17-17 on a layup from freshman guard Zach Norris.
With four minutes left in the half, the Eagles would again have a chance to take the lead, trailing 24-23 with the ball in their possession. Junior Willie Harper’s 3-point attempt fell short however, and the Bronchos closed the half on a 7-2 run.
Oklahoma Christian would not give up; they again closed the lead to just five points with 13 minutes left in the second half.
The Bronchos exercised a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to pull away for good. Following the run, Oklahoma Christian would not be within single digits again.
Graduate Assistant for men’s basketball Brandon Troutman suggested that this game got away from the Eagles in the early going.
“Defensively we competed hard enough as a team to keep ourselves in the game, but at the end of the night we shot too poorly to be able to overcome the deficit,” Troutman said. “We missed open shots early in the game, and once we got behind we never put it together as a team offensively.”
The 72-58 loss to Central Oklahoma dropped Oklahoma Christian’s record to 3-1.
Talley and Harper both scored 15 points for the Eagles. Talley also added five boards and four assists. Tate scored seven points, pulling down eight rebounds.
Freshmen John Moon and Norris both had strong performances off the bench, scoring six points each while collecting five rebounds.
Starting forward junior Josh Faurot scored five points; he and Norris proved the only two Eagles to shoot over 50 percent from the field.
Oklahoma Christian will have 10 days off before their next game. The Eagles have played four games in 10 days, meaning they have not had much time to practice and improve from game to game.
The upcoming schedule for the Eagles features back-to-back games in a new Thanksgiving Classic at the University of Central Oklahoma. Friday, Nov. 29 the Eagles will play Oklahoma City University. On Nov. 30 they will have a rematch with Southern Nazarene University, a team the Eagles beat at home already this season.
All games in the Thanksgiving Classic will be played at Hamilton Field House on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma.
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