Efficient Eagles roll past Drovers in surprising blowout

Photo courtesy OC Sports Info.

From OC Sports
Murray Evans, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations

OKLAHOMA CITY – On paper, Oklahoma Christian basketball coach Cory Cole figured his Eagles would have their collective hands full with USAO on Monday night, considering USAO already had beaten Cameron, which had beaten OC.

Instead, the Eagles never trailed and quickly turned the game into a rout, rolling to a 96-65 win in a matchup of former Sooner Athletic Conference rivals in the Eagles’ Nest.

Five Eagles scored in double figures, led by John Moon with 26 points. Keilan Horton had 14 points, Jaquan Dupree and Dorian Lopez had 13 each and Jordan Box had 11 as the Eagles shot 47.7 percent (31 of 65) from the field.

OC (2-2) also dominated defensively, limiting the Drovers to 31.3-percent shooting. USAO made only three of its 22 3-point attempts (13.6 percent) and the Eagles blocked 10 shots.

“USAO is a good team … so we were really ready for this scout,” Cole said. “The guys did a really good job of buying in and executing the scout early and we never let USAO get a rhythm. That was huge for us. We really wanted to hit first tonight. The guys did a good job of coming out of the box ready to play.”

Moon had one of the most efficient games of his remarkable career. The senior center from Crescent went 7-of-8 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line to go with eight rebounds and five blocked shots (for the second straight game). He moved past Mike Gipson (1962-1966) into 21st place on OC’s all-time scoring list with 1,487 points.

“He’s efficient,” Cole said. “He’s sealing well. The guys are learning how to play with a big guy. He’s just doing a good job of finishing around the basket and taking it up strong. We’ve got to have that. He kept his composure. It was a physical, chippy game and he went to the line and knocked down 12 in a row. We’re always going to rise and fall with John and tonight he was the biggest man on campus again.”

OC jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes, on a 3-pointer by Marcus Mathieu and 2-pointers by Lopez and Moon, resulting in a quick timeout by USAO. The Drovers scored two quick baskets, but OC answered with a 12-2 run to build a 19-6 lead at the 13:41 mark and the lead was in double digits the rest of the way.

By halftime, the Eagles led 49-22 and USAO came no closer than 25 points the rest of the way. For the second straight game, all but one of OC’s players who saw action but one reached the scoring column.

Taran Buie scored 16 points to lead USAO, but he entered the game – which USAO considered an exhibition for its purposes – averaging 32.3 points to lead NAIA Division I. Brendan Chapman added 12 points and Jamal Tahraoui added 11 for the Drovers, whose assistant coach, Kendre Talley, once starred in OC’s backcourt.

The Eagles will be off until Nov. 29, when they will host Manhattan Christian (Kan.).

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