SALINA, Kan. – The newly minted No. 4-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team was on the road on Wednesday night in hostile Salina, Kan. to go up against the No. 17-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes. In a battle of two of the top three Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) powers, the homestanding squad proved to be motivated by their home court advantage in a competitive affair. The Builders would trail by as many as 18 points in the bout, but fought their way back to within four points with a few minutes left to play, but it was not quite enough in the 83-77 loss.

"I am proud of our players battling until the end," said head coach Matt O'Brien. "I give credit to a very good KW team who played well."

Things were feeling ominous from the jump, as Kansas Wesleyan raced out to a 9-0 lead after just 2:15 had come off the game clock. The Moundbuilders would fight back to trim the lead to as few as five points at 34-29 with 6:28 to play in the half, but the final six minutes were controlled by KWU, as they went on a 14-6 run to close out the period. Among the struggles that Southwestern faced in the half were a 15-of-45 (33.3%) shooting clip, a 24-21 rebounding disadvantage and having six of their shots blocked by the Coyote defense. Meanwhile, the home squad shot nearly 60% at 19-of-32 in the first stanza to enter the break with a 13-point lead at 48-35.

The two sides played almost identically in the second half, with the KWU offense coming down to Earth, and the Builder offense improving slightly. Each team made 12 shots in the half, with the Coyotes taking one additional shot. After being down by as many as 18 points at 64-46 with 11:39 left to play, the Moundbuilders turned their offense on late, putting up a 25-11 run over the next 8:27 of the half. The stretch made the score just 75-71, but the Coyotes were able to fend off the late advances from SC, hitting all six of their free throws in the waning seconds of the tilt to hold on to an 83-77 win over the Moundbuilders.

No Southwestern shooter was particularly efficient in this tilt, as the Kansas Wesleyan defense was stifling for the majority of the game. Deng Bol was 7-of-15 from the field and scored 21 points to lead the Builder charge offensively. Andrew O'Brien was next on the list with 16 points, but made just six of his 16 shots. Cevin Clark (5-of-16, 13 PTS) and Jarvis Jennings (4-of-11, 10 PTS) were also held in check for the most part, while still reaching double-digit points in the loss.

Clark was the team's leading distributor of the orange on this night, with four assists. Bol was next with two, and Jennings, O'Brien, Cooper Pierce and Phillip Smith were each credited with a single dime. Surprisingly, O'Brien was not able to get involved as a table-setter in this matchup.

O'Brien was able to record another double-double with his rebounding efforts, reeling in 10 boards. He was followed by Pierce with seven and both Bol and Clark with five. Smith and Jennings each added four backboards, and Zach Hidalgo contributed three off the bench.

Only four steals were credited to Moundbuilder defenders, as O'Brien, Clark, Pierce and Hidalgo each had a single swipe. Jennings blocked a pair of shots for the SC defense, while Clark, Pierce and Smith each added one rejection to their stat lines.

Though it is the end of a long 10-game winning streak for the Moundbuilders (15-2, 9-2 KCAC), there is still more than half of the KCAC slate yet to be played, and the next battle on the schedule will be back inside Stewart Field House. Southwestern will battle the Eagles of Avila University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14 for Jersey Day, where all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear any sports jersey of their choice. It will be a welcome chance for the Builders to get back on track before hosting the NAIA's No. 2-ranked squad, Oklahoma Wesleyan, on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.

--buildersports.com--