SNAP BACK: OKWU men end week with win; Lady Eagles fall
At least the week ended on a redemptive note for the Eagle men's basketball team of Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
On Monday and Thursday, OKWU suffered back-to-back conference losses for the first time in six seasons.
But, the Eagles — who were ranked No. 2 (NAIA) in the nation coming into the week — snapped back like an angry New York cabbie and fricasseed Friends (Kan.), 84-59, on Saturday.
The victory lifted OKWU to its 20th win (20-3) and to 15-2 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
OKWU is finally relatively healthy.
All five starters were back and doing their thing — Kaleb Stokes (21 points, 5-of-8 treys, eight rebounds, two assists), Jaden Lietzke (13 points, eight rebounds, one steal), Austin Poling (11 points, four rebounds, three assists), Brandon Bird (seven points, two rebounds, four steals) and Derrick Talton Jr. (five points, three rebounds, seven assists, two steals).
Dylan Phillip and Taylen Miller - both who had been starting in recent games - made noise off the bench. Phillip tallied seven points and grabbed four rebounds; and Miller rang up six points and spooned out four assists.
Aaron Paulukaitis added five points and three rebounds.
For Friends, Tim Barbieri shaved the cords with 15 points and also gathered six caroms. A.J. Emerllahu added 11 points and four boards.
OKWU is eager for a mega-matchup Wednesday when it hosts Kansas Wesleyan. Both teams are fighting it out for the conference title._
WOMEN: Friends 66, OKWU 53
The OKWU Lady Eagles (8-15) made a boisterous bid for victory.
But, Friends came on strong to bulge ahead, 48-34, through three quarters.
By then, OKWU ran out of time to generate the firepower needed to rewrite the ending.
OKWU’s overall trend is positive — the Lady Eagles are 5-2 in their last seven games.
Sydnee Schovanec turned in an extraordinary effort to try to boost OKWU to a different outcome.
She dropped in 17 points, grabbed nine rebound and made three steals.
Ty’Najah Mitchell added 13 points, four boards and four assists. Gracie alexander came off the pine to score 10 points and hand out a team-high five assists.
The Lady Eagles struggled from the field (20-of-61), while Friends made almost 50 percent (25-of-51).
Taylor Jackson dialed in 25 points, brought down 10 caroms and swatted seven shots to flirt with a triple-double for Friends.
Heidi Messer is the new OKWU head women’s basketball coach.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan University men's hoops breaks streak
