Men's basketball out-muscles Southwestern at home

Eric Randall shooting a 3 pointer — Senior forward Eric Randall posts a career-high 24 points in his third ever double-double on Nov. 21 against Southwestern University. *Photo by Roxie Gonzalez*

After a loss on the road against the University of Central Oklahoma earlier in the week, the Oklahoma Christian University men’s basketball team disassembled an 8-0 Southwestern University squad on Friday.

According to Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dan Hays, using the team’s height in its favor was an essential component of the game plan.

“[Southwestern] is not really big,” Hays said. “So we really want to take the ball inside and take advantage of our size differential.”

The Eagles effectively used their size against the Moundbuilders. Seven-foot center John Moon recorded 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while 6-foot-9-inch forward Eric Randall scored a career-high 24 and added 10 boards for his third career double-double.

Three other players finished in double figures for Oklahoma Christian. Guards Jordan Box and Jordan Rutherford contributed 12 points and 11 points, respectively, and forward Cameron Peters recorded 11 points.

The Eagles led Southwestern 27-2 midway through the first half. The Moundbuilders shot only 25 percent from the field in the first half, less than half of Oklahoma Christian’s 57 percent accuracy.

Oklahoma Christian was 10-from-19 from the three-point line, an area the young team has struggled in due to poor shot selection, Hays said.

“I’m not against shooting the three ball,” Hays said. “But we’ve got to first initiate inside and then if it comes back outside, then we’re looking.”

According to Peters, letting plays develop will improve shot availability.

“We need to be moving the ball around more and running the offense all the way through,” Peters said.

Excluding Moon, the top five scorers each were successful from behind the arch. Randall, Box and Peters each had a pair of threes, guard Elijah Strickland, with eight points, made one three-pointer and Rutherford shot 75 percent from the perimeter, sinking three.

The Eagles only outscored the Moundbuilders 48-45 in the second half, but a 42-14 lead coming out of the break eliminated the possibility of a comeback.

Peters said a budding team chemistry is proving beneficial on the court.

“We just have to trust each other to do our part and go hard in everything we do,” Peters said. “We just have to communicate with each other.”

Oklahoma Christian will take home court again on Friday against Southern Nazarene University, and Saturday against Southwestern Christian University.