OTTAWA, Kan. – The Ottawa University men's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season with a 97-80 victory over Hesston College on Tuesday evening at Wilson Field House. The Braves used a strong first-half performance and a balanced offensive attack to secure their first victory of the season.
Ottawa had four players score in double figures, led by
Jackson Harding and
Seb Khan with 19 points apiece. Aiden Olmestead added 14 points off the bench, while
Josiah Pattinson finished with 12 points.
Micah Willis contributed 11 points.
The Braves shot 50 percent from the field, outrebounded the Larks 48-31 and dominated the paint with a 56-26 scoring advantage. Ottawa led from start to finish, building a lead as large as 24 points in the second half.
First Half: Ottawa 54, Hesston 38
Ottawa established control early, opening the game with an 11-4 advantage behind baskets from Pattinson, Khan and
Aries Hull, along with a 3-pointer from Harding. Willis extended the Braves' lead to 14-4 with a basket at the 15:49 mark.
The Braves continued to build their advantage as Harding connected on three free throws and Khan scored inside to give Ottawa a 19-7 lead with 14:40 remaining.
Hesston responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 19-13, but Ottawa answered with a basket from
Jayven Price, two free throws by Harding and a basket in the paint from Olmestead to push the lead back to double digits.
A 3-pointer from
Deng Luwal gave the Braves a 28-15 advantage with 10:36 remaining. The Larks trimmed the lead to eight points twice, including 30-22 with 8:59 on the clock, but Ottawa responded with a 9-3 stretch to extend its lead to 39-25.
The Braves continued to attack offensively in the final minutes of the half. A basket by
Landon Braun, a layup from Olmestead and a fast-break score from Khan gave Ottawa a 47-30 advantage with 3:30 remaining.
Willis converted a three-point play with one minute left, and Khan knocked down two free throws at the buzzer to send Ottawa into halftime leading 54-38.
The Braves shot 45.7 percent from the field in the opening half and connected on 20 of their 24 free-throw attempts. Harding led Ottawa with 12 first-half points, while Hull collected seven rebounds.
Second Half: Ottawa 43, Hesston 42
Ottawa picked up where it left off to begin the second half. Harding scored inside, Hull added a basket and Willis converted a fast-break layup to give the Braves a 62-42 advantage with 17:18 remaining.
Hesston responded with six consecutive points to cut Ottawa's lead to 62-48, but Harding answered with a 3-pointer to put the Braves back in front by 17.
Ottawa maintained control as Harding scored inside and Pattinson converted a pair of free throws to make the score 70-52 with 13:06 remaining.
The Braves continued to receive contributions throughout their lineup. Luwal scored in the paint, Price converted a second-chance opportunity and Olmestead added another basket to keep Ottawa comfortably ahead.
With 8:13 remaining, Khan connected on a 3-pointer off an assist from Price to extend the lead to 83-61. Khan followed with another basket at the 7:33 mark, giving Ottawa its largest lead of the game, 85-61.
Hesston attempted to rally, using a 12-2 run to cut the Braves' advantage to 87-73 with 4:15 remaining.
Ottawa answered with an inside basket from Olmestead and a fast-break layup by Khan to extend the lead back to 18 points. Khan added another basket with 2:38 remaining, and Price followed with a fast-break score to give Ottawa a 95-75 advantage.
Pattinson scored Ottawa's final basket with 1:28 remaining as the Braves secured the 97-80 season-opening victory.
Ottawa shot an impressive 54.5 percent from the field in the second half, connecting on 18 of its 33 attempts.
Inside the Box Score
- Jackson Harding finished with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. He shot 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
- Seb Khan tied for the team lead with 19 points, shooting 8-of-9 from the field. He added eight rebounds, four assists and one steal.
- Aiden Olmestead scored 14 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He added three rebounds.
- Josiah Pattinson finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Micah Willis contributed 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.
- Aries Hull led the Braves with nine rebounds and added seven points.
- Jayven Price finished with six points, six assists, four rebounds and one steal.
- Deng Luwal scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds and recorded one steal.
- Ottawa shot 50 percent from the field (34-of-68), compared to Hesston's 40 percent (26-of-65).
- The Braves connected on 25-of-30 free throws (83.3 percent).
- Ottawa outrebounded Hesston 48-31, including a 20-13 advantage on the offensive glass.
- The Braves dominated inside, outscoring the Larks 56-26 in the paint.
- Ottawa held a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points and a 29-23 edge in bench scoring.
- The Braves recorded 17 assists on their 34 made field goals.
- Ottawa never trailed, leading by as many as 24 points.
Who is Next
Ottawa (1-0) will now play in the Jack Kater Classic hosted by Friends University in Wichita, Kan. on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31. The Braves will play John Brown University on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
