The Golden Eagles trip to Circleville, Ohio ended in a 92-73 defeat at the hands of NAIA Ohio Christian University on Thursday night. A valiant effort by KSU Tuscarawas just couldn't match the scoring and longer bench of the Trailblazers.

KSU Tusc got on the board first and built a 6-2 lead after the opening tip, before the hosts responded and took a short-lived 9-6 advantage on a deep three-point bomb at the 15:59 mark. Ohio Christian jumped to a 17-10 lead, but a nice 11-4 run by the Eagles knotted the game at 21-21.

The charge was fueled by a DeJuan Lawrence (Akron, OH / Kenmore) 18-foot jumper outside the left elbow, followed by a Lawrence drive to the basket from the same wing and two free throws by Braden Rostad (Gnadenhutten, OH / Indian Valley) after he was fouled on a three-point attempt.

OCU employed a trapping 1-2-2 press that forced several KSU turnovers that resulted in a 36-26 deficit for the Eagles with 5:13 to play in the opening half. That lead stood up as the Blazers rang up a 51-36 lead at the break scoring 12 points off Navy and Gold turnovers.

An inspired KSU Tusc team went on a 9-3 tear in the first five and one-half minutes of the second half to reduce the deficit to a manageable 54-45 tally. Ohio Christian, however, spent the next six minutes turning up the pressure once again as they blitzed the Tusc defense during a 22-7 spurt to take a 76-52 lead and things looked bleak.

Trailing by 24 points, it would have been easy to give-in, but as is the Golden Eagles trademark, they rose up and outscored the Trailblazers 10-1 to get to within 77-62. Unfortunately, it was as close as they would get.

Lawrence led four Eagles in double figures with his third double-double on the year scoring 19 points and snaring 12 rebounds. The 6'8" junior made 7/10 field goals and was a perfect 2/2 from behind the three-point arc. Arthur Jackson (Euclid, OH / Euclid) had 16 points, Reese Ringer (Rittman, OH / Rittman) had 15 off the bench and London Cobbs (Chicago, IL / Roosevelt) added 11.

The Eagles committed 17 turnovers on the day, were 26/65 from the floor for 40% and made 14/23 free throws for 61%.

KSU Tuscarawas is now 1-4 on the season and travels to Hocking College on Saturday, February 20.

Reese Ringer scored a collegiate-career high 15 points at OCU.

Photo by Jason Keller