The Braves were defeated by York University in the opening game of KCAC play in Wilson Field House on Wednesday night. Ottawa shot 41.5 percent from the floor, 36 percent from behind the 3-pt line, and 57.7 percent from the free throw line.
Deondre Buggage led the Braves with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the floor.
Elijah Mason scored 13 points,
Ian Moore finished with 12 points, and
Amil Fields scored 10 points. Fields led OU with nine rebounds and five assists.
Cody Fredrickson had four assist and four steals.
Kamren Woods finished the game with three steals.
Ottawa is led in scoring by
Deondre Buggage (19.5),
Tristen Hull is OU's leader in rebounding (6.7),
Cody Fredrickson is the Braves' leader in assists per game (2.6),
Elijah Mason is the team's leader in blocks (0.6), and
Ty Bland is OU's leader in steals (1.3) per game.
Through six games, Ottawa is averaging 81.7 points, 39.3 rebounds, and 13 assists per game. OU is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor, 29.9 percent from behind the 3-pt line, and 68.5 percent from the free throw line.
The Braves are ranked 31st in the NAIA in total points (490), 43rd in field goal attempts per game (67.3), and 50th in 3-pt field goal attempts per game (26.2).
Saturday's meeting between Ottawa University and Southwestern College is the 137th meeting between the two teams. Southwestern leads the series 81-55 and is 3-2 in the last five games against OU. The Moundbuilders swept the regular season series last year. SWC defeated OU 83-65 in Wilson Field House on Jan. 10 and 109-74 in Stewart Field House on Feb. 19.
Ottawa has lost the last two games against Southwestern in Stewart Field House. The last time OU won on the road in Winfield was when the Braves defeated, then no. 13, Southwestern 92-90 on Nov. 18, 2019. That game was the last time that the two teams have met with the Moundbuilders being ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
The first meeting between Ottawa and Southwestern was on Feb. 9, 1907 in Ottawa. The Braves took the 60-14 victory.
Southwestern College is 5-1 overall, 0-1 in the KCAC, and ranked no. 11 in the NAIA. The Moundbuilders suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday night in Bartlesville to no. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 77-63. Before that loss, SWC had victories over Ozark Christian (109-62) on Oct. 28, Central Christian (97-56) on Nov. 1, Benedictine (73-61) on Nov. 5, College of the Ozarks (78-41) on Nov. 10, and Florida College (90-78) on Nov. 11.
In the loss to Oklahoma Wesleyan, Southwestern shot 36.7 percent from the floor, 27.3 percent from behind the 3-pt line, and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. Cevin Clark and Andrew O'Brien led Southwestern with 19 points apiece. Cooper Pierce scored 12 points.
Through six games, Southwestern is averaging 85 points, 42.5 rebounds, and 16.5 assists per game. The Moundbuilders are shooting 48.4 percent from the floor, 36 percent from behind the 3-pt line, and 74 percent from the free throw line.
SWC is ranked 21st in total points (510), 23rd in 3-pt field goals made per game (10.7), 16th in 3-pt field goals attempted per game (29.7), 45th in free throw percentage (.740), sixth in defensive rebounds per game (33.2), 27th in total rebounds per game (42.5), 22nd in rebound margin per game (12.3), 35th in personal fouls per game (14.5), 33rd in points allowed per game (62.5), 14th in opponents' field goal percentage (.369), and 26th in opponents' 3-pt percentage (.260).
Cevin Clark leads Southwestern in scoring (22.7) and Andrew O'Brien is SWC's leader in rebounds (10.2), assists (6.5), blocks (0.7), and steals (1.7) per game.
