Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 17, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian is headed to a conference tournament for the first time in six years and Abel Rodriguez is headed home – and those two developments most certainly are connected.

Rodriguez played his finest basketball game in an OC uniform on Saturday afternoon, as the senior forward went 7 of 9 from the field and scored 18 points to go with 11 rebounds and three assists to lead the Eagles past Lubbock Christian (Texas) 86-81 in the Eagles' Nest.

The win on Senior Day clinched OC (10-15, 6-8 Heartland Conference) a spot in the eight-team Heartland postseason tournament, to be played at Union High School – Rodriguez's prep alma mater – in Tulsa from March 1-4.

The Eagles last appeared in a conference tournament in 2012, when they were the No. 7 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament but beat three ranked NAIA foes – including then-No. 1 Oklahoma Baptist – in as many days to earn a berth in the national tournament. Current OC assistant coach Kendre Talley was the SAC tournament's most valuable player.

OC will be the fifth, sixth or seventh seed at the Heartland tournament, depending on results of regular-season games next week. But the Eagles are certain to be in the field – quite an accomplishment for a team picked in the preseason to finish last in the conference.

"The guys have just been resilient all season long," OC coach Cory Cole said. "It's not where you're picked; it's how you finish. We used that as motivation. … To get respect, you've got to take it. Today was a step for us against a really good Lubbock team that's been playing well. Our guys played for all 40 minutes to secure this conference tournament berth."

Lubbock Christian (13-13, 9-6) rolled past OC by 15 points on Jan. 20, but the Eagles reversed that result in the rematch thanks to stellar performances from its inside players. In addition to Rodriguez's first career double-double – he posted career-highs in both scoring and rebounding – fellow forward Roderick Smith added 23 points (on 9-of-11 shooting) and eight rebounds).

The center combination of senior Miroslav Jaksic (eight points, four rebounds) and Will Lienhard (eight points, five rebounds) joined with the forwards to give OC's offense the balance it had lacked in recent weeks. They helped the Eagles win on a day when their leading scorer, senior guard Elijah Strickland, had a quiet eight-point performance.

Rodriguez "was a monster," Cole said. "He was so relaxed. I loved that he was smiling on great plays, bad plays – he was just being an energy guy for us. He's capable of doing that each and every game. It's good to see him do that on Senior Day against a really good team that kicked us pretty good at their place. It was Abel's moment and he rose up and made some big plays for us on both ends.

"We've always had a good, balanced inside game. Against Lubbock, that was one of the things we wanted to stress. We wanted to pound it inside, because we felt like we could get some easy looks early with our frontline against theirs. Our guys locked into the game plan. They were patient and they won their matchup. With our depth, we just wore them down and made some really crucial plays."

The Eagles were sizzling from 3-point range, going 7 of 11. Rodriguez went 2 of 2, Jaksic hit his only shot from behind the arc and junior guard Jordan Box went 2 of 3 en route to a 19-point outing. OC also outrebounded a big Lubbock Christian team decisively, by a 42-32 count, and shot a healthy 51.7 percent from the field.

Lubbock Christian's leading scorer, Isaac Asrat, managed only 11 points. Guard Marcos Schuster had 23 points, but went just 6 of 20 from the field for the Chaparrals. Kentton Williams (16 points, six rebounds) and center Brennen Fowler (14 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots) were LCU's only consistent offensive threats.

The Chaparrals jumped to an early 18-8 lead as OC struggled to find its rhythm on offense, but two 3-pointers by Strickland fueled a 17-6 run that gave the Eagles their first lead at 25-24 at the 8:58 mark of the first half. OC was ahead 35-31 at halftime.

Lubbock Christian was up 45-41 with 14:41 left after consecutive baskets by Jay Workman, but OC answered with a 17-3 run that included both of Box's 3-pointers. The latter one extended OC's advantage to 58-48 with 10:35 left and the Chaparrals never completely closed that gap.

OC led 75-63 with 2:39 left. The Chaparrals did a good job extending the game with fouls and defense in the final minutes, but OC went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 67 seconds and Smith had a game-sealing dunk with :08 left.

The Eagles will close the regular season with two road games next week – at league-leading Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday and Rogers State on Saturday.

Cory Cole discusses the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S1OkQoo4HA

Game highlights, courtesy of Eagle Media: https://youtu.be/mee1se0bOLE