TULSA - UAFS had several opportunities to put away Oklahoma Christian during Thursday’s first round game of the Heartland Conference Tournament, but each time the No. 2 seed Lions made a run, so did the No. 7 Eagles.
The nationally-ranked Lions suffered one of its worst shooting performances of the season, and that, combined with a hot-shooting performance from the perimeter by the Eagles, was too much to overcome as the Lions’ bid to repeat as conference tournament champions ended with an 88-79 loss at the UMAC in Tulsa, Okla.
Oklahoma Christian (11-17), which beat UAFS twice this season, will play the winner of Friday’s first round game between No. 3 seed Newman and No. 6 seed St. Edward’s at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals.
UAFS (24-5), which is ranked No. 17 in both the NABC Division II Top 25 and the D2SIDA Top 25, is ranked No. 3 in the final regular-season NCAA Division II South Central Region Poll. That makes the Lions, who have been nationally-ranked all season, a lock for earning one of five at-large bids to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The Lions shot just 36 percent from the field (25 of 69) – they were only 5-of-22 shooting from 3-point range – and shot only 65 percent from the free-throw line (24 of 37). That proved to be a big factor in the Lions’ demise.
Senior guard Ladarius Coleman scored a team-high 16 points, while senior guard Darrion Strong-Moore had 15, senior forward Brett Jolly 13 and senior guard DaVaunta Thomas 11 to round out the Lions’ double-figure scoring.
UAFS did out-rebound Oklahoma Christian by three rebounds (45-42) and had 14 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. Coleman just missed what would have been his seventh double-double, finishing with a team-leading nine rebounds.
Oklahoma Christian, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and as many as eight points with 16 minutes left in the game, shot 44 percent from the field (27 of 61) – the Eagles were 13-of-31 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 88 percent from the free-throw line (21 of 24).
Senior guard Elijah Strickland led the Eagles, who trailed by two points (40-38) at halftime, with 28 points, including six 3-pointers. Senior forward Abel Rodriguez added 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and junior guard Jordan Box had 15 points, including three 3-pointers.
Rodriguez topped off his double-double with 11 rebounds and also had two assists and two blocked shots for the Eagles.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NO. 7 OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN 88, NO. 2 UAFS 79
Oklahoma Christian 38 50 — 88
UAFS 40 39 — 79
Oklahoma Christian (11-17): Strickland 28, Rodriguez 25, Box 15, Shaw 8, Jaksic 7, Lienhard 5
UAFS (24-5): Coleman 16, Strong-Moore 15, Jolly 13, Thomas 11, Crawford 9, Elder 7, Rivera 3, Wallace 3, Hawley 2
