BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The fourth-seeded, No. 22-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team would face a tough task on Saturday afternoon in Bartlesville, Okla. They clashed in a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Championship Semifinal tilt with the top-seeded, No. 7-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles. After the 40 minutes of play had transpired, it may have seemed as if the Moundbuilders were the favored team, as they demolished the homestanding Eagles by a final tally of 98-73.

"This was a great team effort against an outstanding Oklahoma Wesleyan team," said head coach Matt O'Brien.

Southwestern would start things nicely, as they picked up eight straight points to begin the tilt over the first four minutes and change. Then, Oklahoma Wesleyan's second unit started to make a charge forward by scoring 10 of the next 15 points to make it just a 13-10 SC advantage with 13:45 left in the half. Battling back-and-forth, the two teams traded runs to get to 21-18 in Southwestern's favor with just under 10 minutes on the clock. A 10-3 Builder run vaulted the squad in front by 10 points at 31-21 with 7:11 to play and that double-digit lead would only get larger with a 52-38 score being the tally on the scoreboard after 20 minutes. The Moundbuilders were shooting at an out-of-this-world 19-of-30 clip in the first frame, while hitting eight three-pointers on 13 heaves. They also held a massive 15-10 rebounding advantage. The Eagles were not shooting poorly, as they hit on 14-of-30 from the field, but a 4-of-12 long-range ratio could not keep them in the game.

The second half was a bit of a foul fest, as both teams were hit with 13 foul calls by the officials. That led to a massive number of free throws being taken, as SC hit 16 free throws and OKWU hit 11. The Moundbuilders, though they took six fewer shots than the Eagles in the second half, sunk three more attempts than OKWU. They hit on 14-of-24 from the floor and held Oklahoma Wesleyan to a below-average 11-of-30 clip. The lead never shrunk to smaller than 11 points for Southwestern in the second half, as each time that OKWU attempted to rally, the Builders responded. In the end, after many fouls and free throws, the Moundbuilders advanced to the KCAC Championship Final at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. with a 98-73 drubbing of the top-seeded Eagles.

As well as Cevin Clark has been shooting the ball lately, there should have been no surprise that he would eclipse the 30-point mark for the third straight battle. He scored 33 points on an uber-efficient 10-of-15 shooting day, while hitting 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. He was better than 50% from the three-point line, as well, knocking down 3-of-5 from beyond. Trey Abasolo had the game of his collegiate career in this one off the bench. He converted on 5-of-9 from the field and sunk 8-of-10 from the line, while hitting a pair of three balls, to score 20 points for the Builders. Jarvis Jennings was also spectacular, adding 11 points in critical moments for Southwestern, while only missing one of his six shot attempts. Deng Bol was a strong 5-of-9 with 10 points for the Moundbuilders, as well. Both Trey White and Phillip Smith sunk two threes off the bench, to contribute the other 12 of the squad's 43 bench points.

"Cevin continues to play at a very high level and gives our team confidence," O'Brien continued. "Trey Abasolo played his best game off the bench when we needed him most."

Andrew O'Brien dished out the orange nicely in the win, handing out nine assists compared to just three turnovers. Clark and Bol were able to feed their teammates on two occasions each, while both Cooper Pierce and Zach Hidalgo recorded one dime.

Rebounding was especially important in this victory, as OKWU has a roster with players who are capable of rebounding on the offensive end. Instead of allowing the Eagles to control the backboards, Southwestern had a nine-board advantage, 33-24. O'Brien led the team with eight rebounds, and both Pierce and Abasolo snagged seven. Hidalgo's four boards were crucial, while Jennings and Bol grabbed two apiece, as well. Clark, White and Smith all had a single rebound in the matchup, to boot.

Four steals were recorded by Moundbuilder defenders in the triumph, as three starters and a bench player were credited with the tallies. Each of Clark, Pierce, Hidalgo and Abasolo had a steal in the win. Hidalgo also was heralded by his squad for two blocked shots in big situations.

"Though he doesn't always show up defensively in the box score," O'Brien stated, "Deng Bol was solid defensively against their best scorers all night long."

The ultimate prize of the KCAC will be on the line on Monday evening in Park City, as Southwestern (24-6, 16-6 KCAC) will be facing off with the last team that tripped them up during the regular season, the Bethel College Threshers. The No. 3-No. 4 matchup will decide the second automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, and will be played inside Hartman Arena at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27.

Students of KCAC institutions receive free admission to all KCAC Championship events. For all others, tickets to the KCAC Men's Basketball Championship Final against Bethel can be found HERE.

--buildersports.com--