WINFIELD, Kan. – What a show it was inside Stewart Field House on Wednesday evening, where the No. 4-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball squad and the No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles did battle. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) dubbed these two powerhouses as top-five programs in the nation in the last coaches' poll, and this tilt did not disappoint. After allowing the Eagles to pull out to a lead as large as 19 points in the opening half, Southwestern rallied late to nearly complete an improbable comeback in the second half. With a chance to tie or take the lead on the final possession, Oklahoma Wesleyan's defense stood tall to defeat the Builders by a 75-73 final tally, further distancing OKWU from their competition in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) standings.

Among the things that stood out in the early parts of the battle were the three-point shooting numbers from the visiting Eagles. Out of their first 12 tries from distance, they sunk eight, while holding the Builders to just 1-of-8 from deep over that same stretch. Oklahoma Wesleyan was also pristine in regard to their ball security, turning the ball over just once in 20 minutes. The Moundbuilders gave away the orange seven times in the half. Over the first 13 minutes of the battle, OKWU outscored SC 39-20, and looked to be cruising to a blowout win, but that is where things began to derail for the Eagles. The last six minutes and change of the first half were dominated by the Moundbuilders, as they carried out a 15-4 run over the final 6:10 on the game clock. The massive run cut the disadvantage to just eight points for Southwestern with a full half to go.

The two squads played strikingly similar second halves, as a 14-of-31 showing from OKWU was almost identical to the 12-of-29 clip from the Moundbuilders. Free-throw opportunities kept the Builders in the battle, as they continued to attack the rim with vigor throughout the tilt. The Eagles started strong in the second half, as they held a 10-point lead with 16:42 to play at 49-39. They then allowed an 11-2 run to the Moundbuilders, which cut the OKWU lead to 51-50 with 11:57 to go. Oklahoma Wesleyan was able to stretch it back out to a 67-57 lead with 7:10 remaining, but SC clawed their way back again with a 13-5 run to make it 72-70 for the visitors with 56 seconds left on the clock. After a converted OKWU layup, a three-point bomb from Andrew O'Brien cut the lead to just one point at 74-73 with 20 seconds. A 1-of-2 trip to the charity stripe for the Eagles gave SC the ball back with 16 seconds left, but the Builders were unable to convert before the buzzer, falling 75-73 in a thrilling bout.

Cevin Clark did the majority of his damage in this game from the inside, scoring a total of 25 points with just one made three-point shot. He drilled all eight of his free-throw attempts, as well. While Clark led the squad in scoring, O'Brien contributed just as much. In fact, his 22 points are a season-high mark, topping his previous matchup with the Eagles this season in Bartlesville where he tallied 19 points. He drilled a litany of three-points shots, knocking down 4-of-9, including the fallaway three to make it a one-point game with just over 20 seconds left. Deng Bol was the remaining Builder with double-digit points, as he tallied 12 on 4-of-5 shooting. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the stripe to boot. The Builders did not get as much from their bench in terms of scoring in this battle, as they had only two bench points to the Eagles' 20.

O'Brien had a team-best five assists in the battle, and was followed by Clark, Bol and Cooper Pierce, who each had three dimes. The one remaining assist on the box score came from Trey White off the bench.

As he has done in six of his last seven contests, O'Brien racked up 10 boards and was tied with both Bol and Pierce for the team lead. He split his rebounding between the offensive and defensive categories evenly, racking up five on each end of the floor. Trey Abasolo was next highest on the list with four backboards, and Jarvis Jennings and Zach Hidalgo each added two.

Clark came away with a pair of takeaways from OKWU ball handlers, and the remaining three steals came from O'Brien, Jennings and Abasolo. SC did have three blocks in the tilt, as O'Brien, Hidalgo and Phillip Smith were credited with the rejections.

This brawl was a sight to see, as Southwestern (16-3, 10-3 KCAC) will feel that they put forth the necessary effort to complete the comeback, but ultimately came up just shy. Now, the Moundbuilders' focus shifts to an up-and-coming Ottawa University squad, as the two sides will do battle on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. in Ottawa, Kan. Six of Southwestern's final nine matchups will be played on the road, starting with this Saturday's challenge.

--buildersports.com--