TOURNEY EXIT FOR OKWU: Eagles' title quest ends vs. Arizona foe

"So close the distancebetween a dream and pure chance,a blind spot in the eye of fate,a stumble down destiny's strait.

“But, having reached partial heightin the gleam — between dirt and flight —winds of worth soften the fallto those who offered their all.”

—

Whatever prospects Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s men’s basketball team had to soar to a national title were clipped Wednesday by Ottawa (Ariz.) University.

The Copper State boys surprised the No. 2-seeded OKWU Eagles, 83-72, in the NAIA regional final at Park City, Kan.

Ottawa recovered from an amazing OKWU 24-5 run to open the second half.

OKWU ended its season with a 27-5 record and just one win shy of returning to the NAIA round of 16 for the fourth-straight season.

Ottawa now advances to the NAIA Finals Site (Kansas City, Mo.) next week, while OKWU head coach Donnie Bostwick and his staff will need to do some rebuilding during the offseason months ahead.

The first half told a big chunk of the story in Wednesday’s battle. Ottawa powered to a 12-point halftime lead, 41-29, and held on in the face of OKWU’s spirited second half rally.

Free throw disparity weighed on the side of Ottawa — 25-of-33, compared to 6-of-12 for OKWU.

Kaleb Stokes came up huge for the Eagles (23 points, 4-of-8 three-point shooting, four rebounds and three assists) and Jaden Lietzke locked down a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists). Lietzke scorched cords on 7-of-10 shooting.

Austin Poling dropped in 12 points, Dylan Phillip added nine points and Derrick Talton Jr. filled the twine with six points and grabbed five rebounds.

Keshawn Bruner made the nets dance to the tune of a 29-point night for Ottawa, including 8-of-10 free throws. He also harvested seven rebounds. Josiah De’laCerda added 13 points and seven boards, while Kolten Hitt netted 16 points.

The first half proved to be an unusual turn of events for OKWU, which usually has been in the driver’s seat at halftime.

But, the Eagles kept clawing away in the second half to catch up.

Lietzke and Stokes buried a layup and three-pointer, respectively, to open the first minute of the second half and cut Ottawa’s lead to nine points, 43-34.

Another Lietzke layup whittled the margin to seven points, 43-36, with 18:36 left.

A 4-0 spurt by OKWU — including Lietzke’s third bucket, this one set up by Talton’s steal — sliced Ottawa’s lead to five points, 45-40, with 17:34 showing on the clock.

Twenty seconds later, OKWU struck again — this time on a Stokes’ trey, set up by Talton’s assist — to dial down Ottawa’s lead to two points, 45-43.

With 16:44 left, OKWU tied the score, 45-45, on two Talton free throws.

To that moment, the Eagles were on a 16-4 run 3:16 to open the second half.

The Eagles burst into the lead, 48-46, when Lietzke converted the free throw on a three-point play with 16:11 left. That stretched the run to 19-5 in 3:49.

And, the Eagles kept rolling — a trey by Austin Poling, at the 14:25 mark, to increased OKWU lead to five points, 51-46.

Ottawa answered by calling a full time out.

But, OKWU added two more points to its lead, 53-46, on Phillip’s layup, set up by Lietzke’s offensive board.

Starting at the 11:47 mark, Ottawa started its comeback. The Arizona team would outscore OKWU during that stretch, 37-19.

Ottawa tied the score at 60-60 — on a 14-7 spurt — at the 7:33 mark.

OKWU scrapping, too, and took the lead again at 62-61, and 64-63. Ottawa rallied back ahead and hit 8-of-12 free throws during the final 2:35 to seal the victory.

Some highlights of the season for OKWU included reaching the No. 2 ranking in the nation, a 19-1 record the first 20 games, an undisputed Kansas Collegiate Athletic Association regular season title and a NAIA regional first round win.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan basketball hits exit on title highway