Oklahoma Wesleyan Uses Second Half Route to Win KCAC Men's Basketball Championship - Mar 2, 2018
Oklahoma Wesleyan lived by the three en route to an 84-74 victory over Southwestern to win the KCAC Men's Basketball Championship Monday night in Hartman Arena. Throughout the first six minutes both teams struggled to shoot the ball, but OKWU's ability to hit the deep ball was the difference as they hit three three-pointers in the first seven minutes and 41 seconds to take an early 11-7 lead with 13:19 remaining in the half. The contest remained tightly contested over the next five minutes as the Eagles held onto a 20-17 advantage with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. The Builders got fouled on a layup that went in with 3:40 remaining in the half to cut their defecit from three to one, trailing 24-23. The Builders hit a layup at the halftime buzzer to cut their deficit to three, trailing 32-29. The stats were pretty even at the half with the only big difference being Southwestern shooting 40 percent from three as opposed to just 26 percent for the Eagles. Isaak Rowe (6'6''-G/F) of OKWU led all scorers with 11 points. Cameron Hunt (6'4''-G) was the only Builder in double figures with 10 points. The Eagles pushed their lead to eight in the early portion of the second half. With 11:23 remaining in the first half, OKWU led 52-44 after getting open looks from three and close looks from two as they tried to penetrate the Builder 2-3 zone. The Eagles pushed their lead to as many as 17 and never looked back, eventually winning by 20, 84-64. Shooting was the difference as OKWU shot 41 percent (29 for 70), while Southwestern finished the contest shooting 30 percent (21 for 69). KJ Malveau (5'0''-PG) led all scorers with 22, while teammate Joshua Wilchcombe (6'7''-F) led with 19 rebounds on the night. Cameron Hunt and Lajuan Hardy (6'0''-PG) led the Builders with 14 points.
Player of the Year: Jordan Murdock (6'5''-G/F) of Friends Defensive Player of the Year: Terell Gandy (6'1''-G) of Ks Wesleyan Freshman of the Year: Jamiah Windom-Haynes (6'5''-F) of Sterling Newcomer of the Year: KJ Malveau (5'0''-PG) of Okla.Wesleyan Coach of the Year: Matt O'Brien of Southwestern, KS
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