Wesleyan men stumble against Ottawa
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Kansas Wesleyan jumped out to a big 15-3 lead early, but could not hold on as Ottawa would knock off the Coyotes 86-72 on Saturday night at Muir Gym.

After entering the night in a three way tie for first in the KCAC with Southwestern and Sterling, the loss drops them into a five-way tie for first. Sterling dropped a game to McPherson, and Southwestern fell to Friends, creating a five-team log jam at the top of the standings at 7-3 between the Coyotes, the Braves, Southwestern, Sterling and Friends.

Tony Boone would put the Coyotes ahead 7-0 with 17:18 to go in the first half, but a three from Matt Green would get Ottawa on the board with 17:09 to go. Willie McCarty would score and Romero Hood would complete a three point play with 15:56 left in the half to get Wesleyan a 12-point cushion at 15-3.

Ottawa would work its way back into the game, eventually tying things up at 17-all with 10:33 to go on a David Birch three-point play to cap a 14-2 run from the Braves.

Wesleyan would answer back with five straight points to push its lead to 22-17 with 8:57 left on a Hood steal and score.

The Braves would get back within two three more times before the Coyotes would get back a five-point lead, 32-27, with 5:42 left.

Phil McClintock would get a score sparking a game changing 12-0 run by the Braves that would give them a 39-32 lead with 1:04 to go on a three from Travis Smith.

Boone would score just before the half to break the run, and send the Braves into the break with a 39-34 lead.

Mychal Henderson would hit a three to open the second half to get Wesleyan back within two at 39-37, but it was as close as the Coyotes would get the rest of the way.

Ottawa would use an 8-0 run to take its first double-digit lead of the night at 47-37 on a Clint Bones bucket with 16:55 left.

Milen Brown and McCarty each scored as part of a short spurt from the Coyotes to make it 51-47 with 14:12 to go, before Ottawa opened up the offense.

A 12-1 run from Ottawa (14-6, 7-3) would give the Braves their biggest lead of the night to that point of 15 at 63-48 with 11:04 left on a Birch score, ending any chance of the Coyotes making a game of it.

The Braves eventually pushed their lead to 18 at the 8:44 mark on free throws from Jake Carter making it 68-50.

Wesleyan (9-10, 7-3) tried to make things interesting, hitting four triples late to cut Ottawa’s lead to 12 with 1:03 left at 84-70, but could get no closer the rest of the way as the Braves got the 86-72 win.

Henderson led the Coyotes with 24 points, while Sims and Hood each added 11 and Milen Brown had ten for Wesleyan, who shot 27-of-69 from the field for 39.1 percent. Hood led the Coyotes with six rebounds.

Birch had 27 to lead the Braves, while McClintock added 16 and Green had 13 as Ottawa sizzled from the field, hitting 29-of-56 shots for 51.8 percent. Bones led Ottawa with ten rebounds as the Braves crushed the Coyotes 43-29 on the glass.

Wesleyan is back at home on Thursday as the Coyotes entertain arch-rival Bethany at 8 p.m., inside Muir Gymnasium. Wesleyan is at home again next Saturday against Southwestern, and wraps up the four-game home stand on February 7 vs. McPherson.

-- KWU SI --