With a bid to the National Christian College Athletic Association on the line, Oakland City University hosted the opening game of the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament, pitting the Mighty Oaks against the Eagles of Alice Lloyd College.
After seeing an early lead evaporate, OCU found themselves trailing 48-37 at the halftime break. The Eagles increased their lead to as many as 19 points early in the second period, but the Oaks fought all the way back, earning a pair of ties in the final two minutes, at 79-79 and again at 81-81. However, the Eagles converted on foul shots down the stretch, ending OCU's season with an 89-83 final.
Tyler Toopes led all scorers in the game, posting 30 points, while leading the Oaks in assists, with five, steals, with four, and joining
Nathaniel Schmittler with a team best seven rebounds.
DJ Redding came off the bench to pour in 15 counters, followed by
Kase Robinson, who tallied 14. Schmittler scored 12 points in the loss.
Blake Smith paced the Eagles, scoring 21 points, followed by 19 from Ian Lee. Will Philpot compiled a double-double, putting up 15 points to go with a game high 13 rebounds, while Noah Young added 10 points and eight assists, followed by Colyn Sturgill, who scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
As a team, OCU shot 32-68 (47.1%) from the field, despite making just 3-20 (15.0%) from three point range. ALC connected on 33-66 (50.0%) of their shot attempts, including 8-21 (38.1%) from beyond the arc. The Oaks made 16-20 (80.0%) from the free throw line, compared to 15-17 (88.2%) for the Eagles.
For the game, the Mighty Oaks trailed 48-27 in rebounds, including an 18-9 deficit on the offensive glass. OCU handed out 20 assists, two more than the Eagles, while turning the ball over 12 times, half the total of Alice Lloyd.
The Eagles advance to face Kentucky Christian University in the Regional Championship game, held in the Johnson Center tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
Toopes finished his OCU basketball career with a total of 1,153 points, good for 23rd on the all-time list, and tops among two-year players. His 722 points during his senior season sets a new standard, eclipsing the previous record of 718, set by Jim Fleming during the 1971-72 season. With his average of 25.8 points per game, Toopes was good for the second best average in OCU history, behind the 2970-71 effort of 26.0 points per game by Larry Harris.
He also had top ten single season records in field goals made (3rd, 256), field goals attempted (2nd, 512), three pointers made (7th, 93), three point attempts (5th, 225), free throws made (8th, 117), free throw attempts (9th, 148), while also reaching the top ten in a career in three pointers made (10th, 155), three point attempts (9th, 391), free throw percentage (8th, (204-246) .829), and assists (10th, 285).
Schmittler finished the season with the ninth most rebounds on the all-time list, hauling in 278 on the year, and also reached ninth on the career list with 550 through his junior season.
OCU head coach
Lee Moore will look to reload for a push next season, with a strong core of returning players, and will hope to improve on their final record of 10-18.
