Box Score At the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, the OKWU men's basketball team experienced both the highs and the lows when it comes to postseason basketball. After winning their Round of 16 matchup on Friday, the Eagles faced Thomas More in the quarterfinals with a trip to the Fab Four on the line. After a tightly contested battle, the Eagles fell just short of advancing and saw their season come to a close.
Recap from Friday (Defeated LSU Shreveport 85-71):
- The Eagles jumped out to a strong lead in the first half and maintained it through the second, winning 85-71 in a game that saw both offenses struggle from beyond the arc.
- The Eagles earned a big advantage on the glass, winning the rebound battle 44-30. This led to a drastic difference in 2nd Chance Points, where the Eagles tripled the Pilots, 24-8.
- Jaden Lietzke scored 21 for the Eagles to lead the offense, while Dylan Phillip added 14 off the bench. Brandon Bird (13) and Derrick Talton Jr. (11) were the only other OKWU scorers in double-figures.
Recap from Saturday (Lost to Thomas More 59-56):
- The shooting struggles spilled over into Saturday for the Eagles, who shot just 36% from the field during the quarterfinal matchup, including just 2-16 from 3-point range.
- Despite the offensive issues, the OKWU defense allowed them to keep things close. They led at half, 29-27, and forced 15 turnovers in the game, leading to 17 points off turnovers.
- OKWU saw themselves outrebounded, as Thomas More edged them on the glass 37-32.
- In spite of all that, OKWU cut the lead to 1 with 10 seconds left before forcing a Thomas More turnover. After a timeout, the Eagles lost the ball and were forced to foul. Ryan Batte of Thomas More sank the two free throws to push the Saints lead to 3 and essentially seal the game. A last second 3 from Valentin Van Putten didn't fall, but the Eagles had one final chance when, at the buzzer, Kaleb Stokes got a look from beyond the arc. That didn't go either and the Saints survived.
Now the Numbers:
- Taylen Miller led all OKWU scorers with 10 points.
- The Eagles hit 10 of 15 shots from the foul line.
- OKWU scored 40 of its 56 points in the paint.
- The loss means the Eagles finished the season with a 34-3 record.
