JOPLIN, Mo. – The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team claimed an 86-78 victory on Monday afternoon over Ozark Christian College. Reggie Daniels led the Crusaders with a personal-high 21 points thanks to 7-fo-16 shooting from the field and 7-for-11 at the free throw line. The junior out of Center, Texas, also notched his first double-double of the year with 11 rebounds and had five of them on the offensive glass.

Dallas Christian led 43-38 at halftime and would lead by as many as eight early in the second stanza with a 52-43 advantage. However, the Ambassadors would surge back on a trio of three-pointers that included the go-ahead field goal to make it 54-52.

DCC's Ja'Kyrie Robinson answered with a triple to get the guests back on top. After a lead change, it was Elijah Barth that had the old fashioned three-point play lift the Crusaders ahead 58-56 and it kept them on top the rest of the way. Jalen Perez scored both his three-pointers and was a key factor defensively with having tipped loose balls to create stops. The Crusaders went up 81-72 with under three minutes to play, but another OCC surge had reduced the gap to five.

Moses Compton iced the game as Barth found the sophomore from Houston on a pass from midcourt that led to a tough basket and foul called. The and-one was completed and the Crusaders held on from there. Daniels did add a dunk afterwards as DCC broke the full court press attempt.

"We were happy for Moses to seal the deal with the huge and 1," Head Coach Dwight Coleman said. "There's not a more deserving kid in our entire program. Moses is a high character and hard-working kid that has poured his all into making this team."

"The guys did a great job defensively creating turnovers that led to easy baskets in both halves," Coleman reflected. "Their ability to change defenses kept Ozarks off-balance."

Coleman added, "Jakyrie's confidence is unmeasurable. He knocked down three after three to keep us in the game. His running mate Jalen Perez came up big with a huge second half. Both freshman are guys that we recruited for their heart and ability to show up in big games." 

This game showed off DCC's athletic ability, as the game started with Brandon Kari throwing a long ally oop from outside the right arc to Daniels for the dunk. Ozarks Christian did score the next seven points and led throughout the first half until DCC got back on top with a trey by Tyrone Auzenne to make it 31-29 with 5:40 before the break. It remained DCC advantage through intermission and until that blip in the middle of the second.

Other stat notables for the Crusaders were Robinson with 15 points, Barth with 12, and Jalen Perez with 11. Robinson and Auzenne each pulled down nine boards and DCC accumulated 50 altogether.

The Ambassadors shot 50.9 percent from the field and were led by Miles Dressler with 24 points and 8-for-11 shooting. Dylan Hidalgo (16 pts.), Brett Campbell (15), and Tyler Alarid (12) also reached double figures in scoring. Alarid added nine rebounds to be one shy of a double-double.

Dallas Christian will start December off with an exhibition against NCAA DI opponent McNeese State University on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.