Opposing players began to grow irritated with Luke Gray.

The Falcons became desperate, throwing two or three bodies at him in the post each time with hopes of slowing him down. With each drop step, rebound, and putback by Gray, you could see a sense of confusion manifest on the faces of defenders.

They had zero answers for Gray in first-ranked Oklahoma Christian School's 74-61 win over Millwood on Tuesday night. He was moving at a pace that no one in the gym could match.

Motivated to win yet another road game, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior developed a new approach heading into his matchup with the defending Class 3A state champions.

"My whole thing is, I want to play good against really good teams," Gray said. "I knew they were a bit smaller than most teams we've played, so I just told myself to keep attacking inside and getting buckets."

Gray had a dominant showing against its 3A rival, scoring a game-high 35 points and 24 rebounds to lead the Saints (18-2) to their fourth consecutive win. OCS has won 13 of its last 14 games and remains undefeated against 3A competition heading into the final week of the regular season.

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"We've been playing at a high level all season long, but lately, all the credit goes to our defense," Gray said.

"I think we're able to compete with some of the best teams in the state offensively, but when it comes down to the defense and locking up, that's been giving us success against some of these really good teams. It's been important for us to find our stride on defense as we head into the playoffs because we're aiming for gold."

The Saints struggled with Millwood's physicality early on as Falcons guards Xon Williams and Khris Clay forced six combined turnovers in the first quarter. Initially, they seemed to be cooking up a recipe for victory.

However, the Saints came out of their first-quarter huddle with heightened urgency.

OCS sparked a 19-8 run in the second quarter led by Gray and guard Kyler Brown to create separation from the Falcons. They led by double digits heading into the break after switching into a 2-3 zone defense, forcing Millwood to shoot and miss a host of outside shots.

"Coach told us if we beat them by 12 points, we wouldn't have to go lift weights in the morning," Brown said. "I think we took that challenge to heart. We also had some injuries to our backcourt during practice this week, so I figured I had to step up for that challenge today, too."

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The Saints' lead would grow to as much as 17 in the second half after Brown continued to find Gray repeatedly on the block. Senior guard Carson Jones also began to heat up in the second half while encouraging his teammates to let the ball fly whenever he found them beyond the arc.

Yet, as long as OCS has Gray at its disposal, the Saints' utmost confidence refuses to waver.

"It's awesome to play with a guy like Luke, man -- he's really special," said Jones, who finished with 13 points.

"He makes our lives so much easier for all of us. All we have to do is throw it up, and he'll get it. Then we know they're going to double him, and when he's playing like he did tonight, it's our job to knock down the open looks we get."

The three-star forward has been on a tear this season, averaging over 22 points and 16 rebounds while having OCS as the favorite to win Class 3A. His dominant showing on Tuesday comes a week after his 50-point outing against Harding Charter.

Gray recently passed former OU star Blake Griffin as the all-time scoring leader for Oklahoma Christian School's boys basketball program. He's also on pace to eclipse the program's all-time rebounds mark in the next week, which is also held by Griffin.

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He views the accomplishments as small steps leading to OCS winning its first state championship in 17 years.

"I go out and play like I do for our younger guys from our middle and elementary school that come to watch my games," Gray said. "Day in and day out, even when I don't feel like playing, I think about being a role model for them."

"I'm having such a fun senior year. All my other years were great, but there's something special about this group of guys that I will always cherish. Breaking records is just a small thing. We've got some goals and aspirations we wanted to achieve and I'm ready to do what's necessary to reach them."

Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma hs basketball: Luke Gray unstoppable in OCS win over Millwood