LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 15-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team is on the road in Lawrence, Kan. for this weekend's Ernie Stevens Classic, hosted by Haskell Indian Nations University. The first game of the tourney for the Builders was held on Thursday evening against College of the Ozarks. In the battle, Southwestern ran away with the bout, extending their lead to as many as 41 points in the second half. They took a 78-41 win over the Bobcats to begin their weekend in Lawrence.

The Moundbuilders were on a heater from the outset, starting the game on a 15-2 run in just the first 3:30 of the tilt. They were 5-of-8 from the field and made three free throws in that span, as a pair of their makes were from deep. The lead would grow to as large as 20 points in the opening stanza, reaching the 29-9 mark with 9:13 left in the first act. Things cooled down tremendously for SC from that point on in the half, scoring just 10 points over the final nine minutes of play. Conversely, the Bobcats battled hard to get themselves back within 13 points of the Moundbuilders, lighting up the scoreboard for 17 points over the same span. The 39-26 Southwestern advantage at the break was thinner than the team might have hoped after their incendiary start.

At the half, the team took their slow finish to the first period to heart, as Southwestern would quickly extend their lead from 13 points to a massive 31 in just over eight minutes of the second half of the matchup. The 62-31 lead would only continue to rise, as a subsequent 8-1 run was levied upon College of the Ozarks to make it a 70-32 game. The lead would get to as large as 78-37, but the tilt would finish 78-41 just three minutes later. A 16-of-28 showing from the floor in the second half, with a 7-of-15 performance from beyond the arc, was a much better depiction of the offense that Southwestern wants to bring on a nightly basis.

Once again, Cevin Clark was the squad's leading point-getter with 15 total points in the win. He sunk 6-of-11 from the field, while making 3-of-6 from deep, shooting 50% or greater in both categories yet again. It was great to see a strong game from Cooper Pierce on offense, as he was the second-highest scorer of the starters for SC on this night. He tallied nine points and made four shots out of the seven he attempted. He also sunk a three-point shot on three tries. Trey White was the three-point sharpshooter in the game for the Builders, nailing 3-of-5 from deep for nine points. Trey Abasolo and Jarvis Jennings each added eight points to the effort, while going a combined 6-of-14 from the floor. Abasolo had a pair of made threes in the battle. Phillip Smith and Deng Bol had seven points, while Abraham Rodriguez Jr. added six to round out the top eight scorers.

Dishing out dimes is one of Andrew O'Brien's great talents, and he continues to divvy up assists across the entire roster. He had a grand total of 10 assists in this game, accounting for two-thirds of the assists for the Builders. He was followed by Clark and Abasolo, who had two dimes each. Finally, Smith added the remaining assist to the box score.

O'Brien continued to reel in boards, as well, roping in 10 rebounds over the course of play. Nine of his ten collections were on defense in the bout. His rebounds gave him another double-double, as others added important rebounding performances, additionally. Zach Hidalgo had eight boards in the tilt, while both Rodriguez and Pierce had six. Abasolo and Clark added four, while Jennings compiled three and Bol tallied two.

Three steals were racked up by O'Brien against the Bobcats, while two of the remaining four steals were grabbed by Pierce. Jennings and Smith had the final two steals for the team. Only Hidalgo was credited with a single blocked shot on the day.

More action from the Ernie Stevens Classic is yet to come on Friday evening, when the Moundbuilders (4-0) will play the No. 21-ranked Florida College Falcons in a battle of top-25 squads at 5 p.m. at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. The matchup will be a huge test for the 2022-23 top-15 Builder squad.

--buildersports.com--