Four members of the Oklahoma Christian University men’s basketball team scored double figures Tuesday night as the Eagles overcame a tight first half to edge past Manhattan Christian University.
Senior John Moon led the team with 25 points and nine rebounds. He also added another consecutive game with a blocked shot to his streak, which now rests at 56 games, after he rejected two opposing players on the way to a 107-81 victory.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Head Coach Cory Cole said. “We wanted to make a statement, and I think in the second half we did just that.”
The Eagles almost doubled the amount of rebounds the Thunder brought down, 52-27. Oklahoma Christian also held the advantage in shooting percentage, as they shot 57.1 percent from the field, 44-77. The Eagles were also 27.8 percent or 5-18 from the 3-point line and 58.3 percent at 14-24 from the free-throw line.
The Eagles trailed by as many as six during the first half, this being the largest at the 10:45 mark where they fell behind 25-19 after a 3-pointer. They managed to tie the game up with 4:44 remaining in the half at 35-35 and then went on a late run to push themselves to a 53-47 halftime lead off a buzzer-beating layup from junior Marcus Mathieu.
After halftime, the Eagles opened with a 7-0 run to take the lead up to 13-points before the Thunder did the same and brought the game back within single digits, 60-53 with 17:06 left to go.
Moon then led the Eagles on a 22-8 run to place them ahead 82-61 with a little less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. Manhattan Christian never got within 17 points for the remainder of the game.
Oklahoma Christian held a final score in the triple-digits, curtesy of a jumper by freshman Ivor Baric, who had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Eagles.
Freshman Dorian Lopez added 19 points and nine rebounds, Mathieu contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists and junior Elijah Strickland filled out the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Eagles will play next Tuesday when they visit former NAIA archrival Southern Nazarene University. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.
0
0
Be First to Comment