OC pockets win against conference leader

Oklahoma Christian Univeristy men’s basketball team struck-down conference-leading Lubbock Christian University in a win on Saturday.

The Eagles improved their record to 3-9 with the routing of Chaparrals 75-55.

Senior leader and offensive-anchor Eric Randall was out with concussion-like symptoms from a collision in Thursday’s game against Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and point guard Zach Norris was out due to injury as well. Casey Covalt earned his first start of the season, contributing five points for a second consecutive game.

But the highlight of the game for the Eagles was the play of freshmen guards Jordan Box and Elijah Strickland. Box finished with a career-high 23 points and Strickland added 16, also his best performance.

According to Randall, sticking to a pre-determined strategy and converting on offense were essential to ensure the win.

“It’s about making shots, executing our game plan, playing the way we know we can play,” Randall said. “Making shots is something we’ve struggled with this year and we did that in this game and it helped to seal the victory.”

Sophomore guard Luis Lopez said the team had a season-long struggle of scoring.

“We just simply made the shots we needed to this game and that’s what we’ve been waiting on all season,” Lopez said.

An early advantage for Oklahoma Christian allowed the team to play a relaxed game, Lopez said.

“Coach kind of let our young guards play a little looser and more comfortable in this game and we saw they played well, especially Jordan and Elijah,” Lopez said.

The Eagles jumped out to a 10-3 early lead after a succession of shots from Box. The first half stayed in the Eagles’ control throughout as they climbed to a 33-13 lead with four minutes left in the half after a layup from Box and a 3-pointer from Strickland.

The Eagles finished the half with a comfortable 40-26 lead, Box leading with 13, followed by Strickland with 10.

The second half started slow for the Eagles, Lopez said, as the Chaparrals jumped out to a quick run, closing the gap to 42-31 with 17 minutes left. But a hot streak behind the arch proved to be Oklahoma Christian’s redemption, going on a 23-4 run with long-shots from Covalt, Cameron Peters, and Tripp Fuller.

The team was 47 percent from 3-point range, headlined by Box who was 3-4 and Strickland who shot 3-6, to seal the 75-55 victory.

Hays said he was very pleased by his team’s shooting and overall play.

“When our perimeters hit shots, that’s a huge boost for our offense,” Hays said. “This is a good bunch of kids, and I’ve [said] all along that I like them. So we’ll just keep battling and keep working.”

The Eagles play Newman University at home on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

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