John Moon controlled the basketball court Saturday night, shattering three school records and tying two national records while leading his team to a 104-92 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
Moon scored 50 points and shot 20-20 in field-goals, beating the school records for most points in a game, previously 44 in 1981, number of field-goals in a game, previously 17 in 1973 and field-goal percentage, previously 92.3 percent in 2012.
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dan Hays said OPSU’s defense failed due to poor strategy, giving Moon the opportunity to score undefended.
“They just went all out in a 94-foot trap so if we busted the first line of the trap… John was all alone at the end,” Hays said. “I think John had nine dunks.”
Moon tied two NCAA Division II records: 20 single-game consecutive field goals and 20-20 single-game field-goal percentage, both set in 1984.
Jordan Rutherford recorded the game’s sole double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He led the team in outrebounding the Aggies 34-21.
The Eagles held the lead for all but 12 seconds of the game. They led 48-25 by halftime and, although they finished with a 12-point lead, Hays said the team “ran out of gas late game,” allowing the Aggies to begin making a comeback in the second half.
Hays said the team stood in the bottom of the standings at the beginning of the game, but Oklahoma Christian now stands 3-11 in the Heartland Conference.
“We are only one game ahead of them in the standings I believe, so it was a must-win for us. But it was a good win because they had an exceptional player who had 35 points so him and John had quite a shootout.”
The Eagles will host Newman University on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information office.
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