Box Score
The Dallas Baptist Men's Basketball Team was unable to come out on top of a highly contested game, dropping a 69-65 final on Saturday afternoon at the Burg Center to Oklahoma Christian. The Patriots (4-8, 1-3) have fallen in their past five while OC (5-8, 1-4) snapped its five-game losing slide.
From the game's opening tip, both teams matched each other for baskets as redshirt freshman,
Myles Johnson, got DBU on the board with a trifecta to knot the game at three. In the early going, several lead changes occurred, totaling eight in the half along with a pair of ties. After the Eagles held an early 14-9 advantage, DBU rattled off six unanswered points to go up 15-14, just past the mid-way part of the first frame.
OC grabbed the edge 19-18 with 9:21 to go until halftime, and would never trail the rest of the first stanza. Their largest lead was six points, but the Patriots outscored their opponent 9-4 to close out the final 4:56 minutes.
Redshirt sophomore,
Jonathan Perry, capped the scoring burst with his first three-pointer of the afternoon bringing DBU within one, 34-33. The team's scoring leader poured in 11 of his team-high 16 points in the first half.
In the first possession out of the break, Perry continued to be the hot hand giving the Patriots its first advantage since the last lead change in the previous frame. Similar to the first part 20 minutes of action, each team exchanged leads several times.
The momentum shifted in favor of the home squad following a three-pointer from junior,
Wesley Gipson, to tie the score 46-46. A pair of layups by the duo of Johnson and Gipson following steals gave DBU a 50-47 edge with 9:29 minutes to go.
The Eagles were able to stifle the brief run by responding with a 7-0 streak of their own. Ndiaye brought the deficit to 54-53 with 6:35 remaining.
Johnson eclipsed double-digits in the scoring column with his second basket behind the arc to knot the score 56-56. OC retook the lead 58-56 a few seconds later and both teams would go scoreless for at least two minutes until a basket by John Moon ended the cold spell.
Johnson would deliver another trifecta to cut the deficit to one point with 3:04 to play. On the defensive end, Perry made a tremendous block in the paint on the Eagles' John Moon to initiate a Patriot fast break. DBU would not be able to capitalize however, as they turned the ball over on the following possession.
With just under two minutes remaining, the Eagles extended their slight advantage with a three-pointer from Willie Harper to go up 65-59. Ndiaye knocked a pair of free throws down to narrow the margin 65-61 at 1:01 left in regulation.
Sophomore,
Jason Gentry, drove the lane for a crucial layup bringing the deficit to 65-63 with 24 seconds left and after OC's Willie Harper hit one of two from the free throw line on the next possession, DBU had the ball with a chance to tie. Perry was fouled with 11.2 left on the clock and drained both to give OC a 66-65 lead.
Forced to foul, the Patriots sent the Eagles back to the line and both free attempts were hit to set DBU with the ball with 10 seconds trailing 68-65. A three-point attempt by Perry fell short and OC was able to ice the contest with a free throw in the closing moments.
Behind Perry's team-leading 16 points was Johnson with 14. Gipson also added 11 off the bench for DBU, while Ndiaye came short of notching a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Kendre Talley paced the Eagle's offense with 18 points. Moon followed with 15, and Jordan VanDekop and Harper finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Moon pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
OC shot well hitting 49-percent from the floor, while the Patriots finished at a 40-percent clip. DBU did win the battle on the boards 28-27, and forced 15 turnovers while committing 13 miscues of their own.
Dallas Baptist resumes conference action next Thursday hosting Newman University at 7 PM. The five-game home stand continues on Jan. 18 with a 2 PM tip-off versus Oklahoma Panhandle.
