OKWU eagles fall to langston
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s Jaden Wison (4) goes to the basket during earlier season action. The Eagles fell to Langston, 80-67 on Dec. 29, 2024. OKWU is next home on Jan. 4.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Even with fourth-year star Jaden Lietzke still not available, the Oklahoma Wesleyan University men’s basketball crew waged a spirited battle Sunday (Dec. 29) against Langston University.
OKWU — which is coached by Donnie Bostwick — led early in the second half, 39-32, but Langston then surged to a 20-5 run on its way to an 80-67 win at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
D.J. Talton Jr. dropped in 21 points to spearhead the Eagles attack, followed by Yashi McKenzie with 15 points and Isaac Stanek with 12.
Talton also amassed seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals to complete an impressive stat lead. He also played all 40 minutes and didn’t make a turnover.
Bench scoring was the fulcrum around which the victory tipped. Langston’s reserves combined for 34 points compared to just 11 for OKWU.
Shooting woes from behind the arc continued to plague the Eagles (9-4), who made only 3-of-18 three-pointers. Without “Sure Shot” Lietzke on the floor, OKWU struggled overall from the field — 22-of-62, including just 19-of-44 from two-point range.
Langston also enjoyed a massive advantage on the boards (58 to 23). Langston also seized 15 offensive boards and scored 16 second-chance points.
Three different Langston players dialed up double-doubles — Mario McKinney (17 points, 10 rebounds), Tim Ighoefe (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Joshua Smith (10 points, 12 rebounds).
In fact as a team OKWU committed only seven turnovers.
But sporadic scoring proved to be too tall a speed bump for the Eagles to bounce over and pull ahead.
Next up, the Eagles will play host on Saturday (Jan. 4) to Bethany College (Kan.). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m., following the women’s game at 1 p.m.