A not-so-funny thing happened in Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s march toward an undefeated season in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball game.
A stunning loss.
On Monday, Bethany (12-9, 8-7) shocked the OKWU Eagles (19-2, 14-1), 66-61, in Lindsborg, Kan.
It was a setback with major repercussions beyond the immediate stab. OKWU had just climbed to #2 in the NAIA national poll last week and was about to climb to #1.
The Eagles also saw their 15-game winning streak end.
The good news?
As Scarlett O’Hara said to herself in the final scene of Gone With the Wind, “After all, tomorrow’s a different day.”
As the Eagles continue to get healthier, they could overcome this jolt like a small bump in the road and continue their ride toward bright potential.
There is no turning back Monday for the Eagles, still aiming high.
Eventually, adversity might have caught up with the Eagles.
They went in without two starters — Brandon Bird and Derrick Talton Jr. — and still won through Monday.
With Bird – who has been out for several games – and Talton out, Bostwick’s top two reserves, Taylen Miller and Dylan Phillip, have been promoted to the starting lineup.
The pair are capable of holding their own as starters, but by taking them out of the reserve team, Bostwick is extremely young in that area and isn’t getting the same constant bump he did when Miller and Phillip came off the pine.
Monday was a prime example — his four subs combined for two points, two rebounds, no assists, no steals, one blocked shot and 22 minutes.
Three Eagle starters had double-digit points – Jaden Lietzke with a double-double (25 points, 11 rebounds), Kaleb Stokes with 17 points and Austin Poling with 11 points.
Miller scored four and Phillip added two points, 10 boards, three assists and just one turnover in 30 minutes.
Lietzke shot 11 of 14 from the field. He has sunk more than 70 percent of his shots in the last nine games.
Talton’s loss two games ago hit him particularly hard – he had dropped 28 and 27 points in back-to-back games.
Bird has not played the last eight games. He’s averaging 11.9 ppg, hitting 41 percent of his three-pointers and averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.
The competition on Monday was limited to the last 50 seconds.
At this point, Bethany took the lead, 62-61, and kept it.
OKWU will attempt to hit back at Bethel in a showdown at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
That opens up a stretch of four home dates in six games.
