Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles thunder into KCAC basketball tourney championship game
Oklahoma Wesleyan University men's basketball coach Donnie Bostwick has trumpeted all season the impact of his senior warriors.
On Saturday, a couple of them stepped up in crunch time to help propel OKWU into the championship final of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament -- and to also record the teams' 30th win (30-2).
The Eagles bagged the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University, 67-58.
The Coyotes (22-10) grinded it out with plenty of grit and spit.
With 5:53 remaining, the score was tied, 53-53.
The victory could have tipped either way at the time.
Eagle power: OKWU teams notch achievements, garner honors during busy week
But, in the final two minutes, two Bruin seniors hoisted OKWU on their shoulders carried it to victory.
Brandon Bird drilled a trey with 1:31 left to make it a two-possession Eagle lead, 64-58.
A few seconds later, Kaz Ammons pulled down a defensive rebound to hand KWU an empty possession.
Ammons buried a three-pointer -- off an assist from Austin Poling -- to extend the lead to nine, 67-58, with 31 seconds left.
Ammons blocked a shot with 22 seconds showing on the clock and Bird yanked down a rebound with 11 ticks remaining to seal the win.
Bird and Derrick Talton Jr. dialed in 16 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Eagles' scoring list.
Bird knocked down 7-of-7 free throws and seized eight rebounds; Talton dished out a team-high four assists and made two steals.
Jaden Lietzke added nine points and Dylan Phillip and Ammons each canned seven.
Cory Kaplan drained 21 points and grabbed 10 boards for KWU.
Read more: OKWU men's basketball adds fresh talent to already mighty returning group
OKWU beats Avila 86-52
Lietzke finished a rebound shy of a double-double (13 points, nine boards) and Lense Ramey nailed four three-pointers to spearhead the Eagles’ KCAC quarterfinal victory Friday.
OKWU surged to a 47-24 halftime lead and never looked back against Avila (10-22, 8-17).
A slight dip: OKWU (25-2) slips in men's national basketball poll, still at No. 6
Other key OKWU contributors included: Phillip with 11 points and two steals, Ammons with nine points and four rebounds, Talton Jr. and Kaleb Stokes with eight points each, Austin Poling with seven points and three steals, and Thomas Jones with five points.
In addition, both Lietzke and Phillip hit 5-of-5 free throws and Stokes seized six caroms.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan men's basketball reaches 30 wins, finals' spot
