WHO: No. 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan @ #4 Southwestern (KS)
WHEN: Wednesday, January 18th @ 7pm CT
WHERE: Stewart Field House – Winfield, KS
WATCH: Southwestern College on the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Network (kcacnetwork.com)
KCAC Standings
| School | KCAC | Overall | GB | Home | Away | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan | 12-0 | 17-1 | — | 7-0 | 10-1 | Won 13 |
| 17 Kansas Wesleyan | 11-1 | 17-1 | 1 | 10-1 | 7-0 | Won 10 |
| 4 Southwestern | 10-2 | 16-2 | 2 | 8-0 | 5-2 | Won 1 |
| Bethel | 7-4 | 9-7 | 4.5 | 2-2 | 5-4 | Won 2 |
| Sterling | 7-5 | 11-7 | 5 | 7-2 | 4-5 | Won 2 |
| York | 6-6 | 8-10 | 6 | 5-3 | 3-7 | Lost 1 |
| McPherson | 5-7 | 10-8 | 7 | 6-4 | 4-4 | Lost 1 |
| Bethany | 5-7 | 9-8 | 7 | 5-2 | 1-6 | Lost 5 |
| Ottawa | 5-7 | 8-10 | 7 | 5-4 | 3-5 | Won 1 |
| Tabor | 3-9 | 6-12 | 9 | 3-6 | 3-4 | Lost 7 |
| Friends | 3-9 | 4-14 | 9 | 3-5 | 1-8 | Won 1 |
| Avila | 2-10 | 3-14 | 10 | 0-6 | 3-8 | Lost 2 |
| Saint Mary | 1-10 | 5-12 | 10.5 | 0-7 | 1-4 | Lost 3 |
Game Changers
Kaleb Stokes 6’6
Kaleb was an All-American just two seasons ago and is back to playing like one again this season. While Jaden Lietzke and Cevin Clark will both be the favorites for KCAC Player of the Year, Kaleb Stokes is quietly putting together a big year. He is the perfect complement to Lietzke and has shown the ability to be a game changer as a mismatch nightmare for opponents. His combination of toughness, effort and skill allows him to be a stat sheet stuffer. Stokes continues to come up big in big games and the Eagles will need him to play well again if they are going to get a big KCAC road win!
Cevin Clark 5’11
One of the best shooters in the NAIA. A 2nd team All-American from last season, Cevin has been in double figure scoring in every game this season and is coming off of a 34-point outing against Avila. He is in range as soon as he enters the gym and is a special, special player to watch! He was just 2-7 in the first matchup between these two teams, but still was able to go for 19pts. Look for Cevin to have a better shooting night at home. Even against this very tough OKWU defense who will have a good game plan for him!
Probable Starters
3 Derrick Talton Jr, 5’10 So – 9.2ppg/4.6rpg/5/1apg
1 Austin Poling, 6’0 Jr – 6.4ppg/3.9rpg/2.2apg
23 Dylan Phillip, 6’4 So – 9.8ppg/3.3rpg
10 Kaleb Stokes, 6’6 Jr – 12.7ppg/6.0rpg/2.4apg
5 Jaden Lietzke, 6’7 Jr – 15.4ppg/6.7rpg/1.7apg
13 Cevin Clark 5’11 Jr – 21.4ppg/2.8rpg/1.8apg
11 Jarvis Jennings 6’2 Jr – 11ppg/2.9rpg
21 Cooper Pierce 6’6 Sr – 10.5ppg/7.4rpg
0 Andrew O’Brien 6’7 Jr – 9.2ppg/10.1rpg/7.2apg
32 Deng Bol 6’3 Sr – 15.9ppg/5.5rpg/1.9apg
Game Breakdown
Oklahoma Wesleyan
OKWU has won 13 straight games coming into this one. The Eagles sit in 1st place in the KCAC and won the home matchup between these two teams back on November 16th. This is a deep team, even without Brandon Bird in the lineup. They defend, they compete and they play well together. Lietzke and Stokes tend to lead the scoring punch, but this is a balanced offense that is led by the play of Derrick Talton Jr. The tough and fast PG does a great job of leading the transition and in the half court is great at getting by his primary defender and finding the open man. He can score it when needed, even though that isn’t usually his first option. He is coming off a big 28-point scoring outburst against York. Stokes and Lietzke though are the toughest ones to stop. It seems like when one is having a bad night, or a gameplan is set up to limit one of them, the other has a big night. This is a fun team to watch, on both ends of the floor.
Southwestern
The Builders have dropped road games to both OKWU and Kansas Wesleyan. Kansas Wesleyan isn’t making a return trip, so this game is even more important for Southwestern if they want to stay in the hunt for a KCAC Title. They currently sit two games back of OKWU. So even if they can win this one, they will still need some help over the final 10 games of the season. Either way, unless the Builders completely fall apart over the final 10 games, this is a team that will be in the NAIA National Championships and right now they are poised for a pretty good seed. The All-American, Cevin Clark, is an electric scorer and leads the team at over 21ppg. Deng Bol provides the 1-2 punch that makes them a tough team to defend and Andrew O’Brien is the do-it-all 3rd option on this team. O’Brien puts up some impressive stat lines and as we have noted all season long, he impacts winning without having to score the ball. Both of these teams are really good, and this should be another really fun game with a really fun atmosphere inside of Stewart Field House!
