LINDSBORG, Kan. — A strong second half and a balanced scoring effort lifted the Ottawa University men's basketball team to a 78–66 road victory over Bethany College on Saturday evening inside Hahn Gymnasium.
First Half
Ottawa fell behind early as Bethany opened the game on an 11–2 run, sparked by a pair of threes from Keddric Mays II. The Braves slowly settled in, with
Jackson Harding scoring seven straight points to stabilize the offense at the midway mark.
The OU defense tightened over the final eight minutes, holding the Swedes without a field goal from the 5:38 mark until the final seconds of the period.
Cameron Lawson's layup with 23 seconds remaining tied the contest at 31–31, and off a turnover,
Rich Martelly drove for a go-ahead layup with 15 seconds left to send OU into halftime leading 33–31.
Second Half
Ottawa carried that momentum out of the break. A jumper from
Landyn Tyler and a three from
Kuol Reech sparked a quick 7–2 surge. The Braves continued to build the margin as
Micah Willis and Martelly found success at the rim, pushing the lead to double digits at 44–33 with 16:20 remaining.
Bethany trimmed the deficit to six after a three from David Mitchell (54–46), but Ottawa responded with a decisive run. Martelly knocked down a jumper,
Elijah Mason hit a pair of free throws, and Harding buried his fourth three of the night to stretch the advantage to 63–48 with 7:28 to play.
Ottawa maintained control from there, punctuated by a
Cameron Lawson dunk at the 4:48 mark and an
Elijah Mason slam in the final 30 seconds to secure the 12-point road win.
STAT LEADERS
Ottawa
- Jackson Harding – 19 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk
- Kuol Reech – 12 pts, 5 reb, 2 threes
- Landyn Tyler – 10 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast
- Elijah Mason – 10 pts (4-4 FG)
- Rich Martelly – 9 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast
- Cameron Lawson – 8 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast
- Micah Willis – 9 pts, 3 reb
OU shot 53.6% in the second half, finished 7-of-15 from three, and outrebounded Bethany 38–29.
KEY TEAM STATS
- FG%: OU 42.9% | Bethany 38.7%
- 3PT%: OU 46.7% | Bethany 33.3%
- Points Off Turnovers: OU 18 | Bethany 17
- Bench Points: OU 19 | Bethany 7
- Points in the Paint: OU 30 | Bethany 22
Who is Next
Ottawa (7-3, 4-1) returns to the court on Wednesday, December 10 in Wilson Field House against Evangel University. Tip off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
