TULSA, Okla. (Nov. 2, 2016) – The good news for Oklahoma Christian is NCAA Division I Tulsa probably will be the best basketball team the Eagles will face this season. The better news – John Moon appeared to pick up where he left off last season.
Facing a big, tough Tulsa frontline, Moon often was the best player on the court, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots in 27 minutes. But OC often struggled to score without Moon on the floor and fell 72-53 to the Golden Hurricane on Wednesday night at the Reynolds Center.
"We can play with anybody on any given night," said Cory Cole, following his debut as OC's head coach. "That's one of the things that we were really pushing for as a staff, that our very first game … is against the best team we play on our schedule, so we really want to measure ourselves against the best, because that's what we expect from our team.
"John has been practicing well the last two weeks. It just kind of carried over into the game. The guys did a good job of finding John when he's open and he's finishing plays. It was good to see him go against size today. That's something we can study on film and maximize."
Besides Moon's performance, there were plenty of encouraging signs for the Eagles during their first exhibition game against a Division I foe in three years. Junior guard Zach Norris provided significant energy off the bench, with four points and seven rebounds.
OC's guards combined for 19 rebounds, including six from Jaquan Dupree, who also had six points and three assists in his first game action since the end of the 2014-15 season. The outsized Eagles hustled to grab 19 offensive rebounds and OC lost the rebounding battle by just a 52-47 margin.
"Our guys are tough," Cole said. "That's one thing that is going to be one of our trademarks, is to make sure that every shot, we've got to have a body on a body. The guys did a good job, in spurts, of doing that. Against a team with that frontline, their guards are a lot bigger than us, it comes down to technique and toughness. We showed that at times tonight."
The Eagles held their own early and led as late as the 13:30 mark of the first half, going up 13-13 on a 3-pointer by Keilan Horton. That proved to be OC's only 3-pointer of the game, however, in 15 attempts, and that proved to be their downfall. OC shot just 6.7 percent from 3-point range and 28.2 percent (20 of 71) from the field.
Tulsa seized control with a 14-3 run and took a 26-16 lead on a basket by Pat Birt at the 7:58 mark and gradually extended that advantage to 40-23 by halftime. The Golden Hurricane's lead peaked at 70-41 on a free throw by Junior Etou with 5:33 left. Etou, like Moon, recorded a double-double, leading Tulsa with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
But the Eagles stopped the bleeding and chipped away at that deficit for the rest of the game, closing to within 18 points in the final two minutes on a jumper by Norris.
"I liked Zach off the bench," Cole said. "He gave us a spark, took a charge, hit a couple of buckets. Just his energy was solid. Jaquan Dupree, he was solid, too, with some activity plays and his energy, being a role player. Elijah Strickland did a good job in spurts in the second half of just making the right reads and getting the hockey assist on a couple of plays. Keilan, who hasn't played in two years, I thought that was a pretty good first game after two years. … Dorian Lopez, as a freshman, was tough and active."
Three other Tulsa players reached double figures in scoring – Jaleel Wheeler (14 points), T.K. Edogi (11 points) and Sterling Taplin (10 points). Birt and Taplin were the only significant contributors back from last season's Tulsa team that reached the NCAA tournament.
OC will close its exhibition campaign on Saturday, hosting Southwestern (Kan.) in the annual homecoming game in the Eagles' Nest.
Cory Cole discusses the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMcVYjKIbo&feature=youtu.be
Game highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mlt8SXKRuY&feature=youtu.be
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