Southwestern Outlasts OKWU in Overtime Thriller

Box Score

In the first home game of the 2022 calendar year, the visiting Southwestern Builders outlasted OKWU in overtime to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season. After a back and forth affair ended with an even 78-78 draw, the Builders earned an 87-85 victory in the overtime period.

Recap:

Southwestern led at the half, 43-40. The Southwestern duo of Cevin Clark and Deng Bol scored 15 each to lead the Builders, while OKWU boasted a more balanced attack, led by Derrick Talton Jr. and his 13 points. The difference in the period was from distance – OKWU shot just 21.4% from beyond the arc, while Southwestern made 57.1% of their shots from 3-point land.
The strong shooting continued for Southwestern after halftime, as they made 70% of their 3-point shots after the intermission. OKWU continued to struggle from that area, going just 2-10 in the second half, but the Eagles pulled even late. A Brandon Bird 3 pulled the Eagles to within 2 with just over a minute to play, and a Talton layup with 10 seconds left tied the game at 78.
Southwestern had a chance to win the game at the free-throw line, but two misses before the buzzer forced things into overtime.
In overtime, Southwestern went on a 5-0 run to open things. OKWU did not score in the first 4 minutes of the period, but Brandon Bird's layup with 44 seconds left made it an 84-82 game.
After a Southwestern free throw, Bird was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He drilled all 3 foul shots to make it an 85-85 game.
Southwestern let the clock run down as far as they could before Deng Bol attacked the rim and made a layup with 4 seconds left. OKWU's buzzer-beater shot didn't find the net, and the Builders completed the upset.

Now the Numbers:

Southwestern was an impressive 62.5% from beyond the arc for the night, drilling 15 3-pointers. OKWU made only 5.
OKWU outrebounded Southwestern 36-32 and scored 52 points in the paint during the contest.
Brandon Bird (26) and Derrick Talton Jr. (22) each scored a season-high.
Jaden Lietzke recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had 3 blocks.

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