OTTAWA, Kan. – The Ottawa University men's basketball team used a dominant second-half performance to defeat Baker University, 96-83, on Friday night inside Wilson Field House. The Braves shot 69.2 percent from the field in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 57-45 to improve to 3-1 overall.
The Braves finished the game shooting 57.4 percent from the floor and outrebounded Baker 38-26.
First Half: Ottawa 39, Baker 38
The Braves opened the contest with an aggressive offensive attack. After Baker scored the first basket, Hull tied the game at 2-2 before Harding knocked down a three-pointer to give Ottawa a 5-2 advantage. The Braves extended their lead to 9-4 on a basket by
Josiah Pattinson with 17:01 remaining.
Ottawa continued to hold the advantage through the opening minutes. Back-to-back baskets from Harding gave the Braves a 15-10 lead with 13:36 remaining in the half.
Baker responded with an 11-0 run, taking a 21-15 lead with 8:35 left on the clock. The Braves answered with two free throws from Harding and a basket by Olmstead, cutting the deficit to 21-19.
The Wildcats maintained a narrow lead over the next several minutes, extending their advantage to 30-25 with 4:23 remaining. Olmstead connected on a three-pointer to pull Ottawa within two, 30-28, before Price scored four straight points to tie the game at 32-32 with 2:20 left.
Price gave the Braves a 33-32 lead at the free throw line, but Baker answered to regain a one-point advantage. Pattinson responded with a three-pointer to put Ottawa ahead 36-34. After Baker tied the contest, Price connected on another three-pointer with 1:12 remaining, giving Ottawa a 39-36 lead.
The Wildcats scored the final basket of the half, but Ottawa entered the locker room with a 39-38 advantage.
Second Half: Ottawa 57, Baker 45
Baker opened the second half with two free throws to take a 40-39 lead, but the Braves quickly responded and took control of the contest.
Harding scored in the paint to put Ottawa ahead 41-40 before Pattinson connected on a three-pointer to extend the lead to four. The Braves continued their offensive surge, using free throws from Harding, Hull and Khan, along with a basket from Pattinson, to build a 52-40 advantage with 16:11 remaining.
The Wildcats cut Ottawa's lead to seven, 52-45, but the Braves answered with a decisive offensive run.
Willis scored in the paint, Olmstead added a basket, and Hull followed with another score to extend the lead to 58-45. Khan then knocked down a three-pointer off an assist from Price, pushing Ottawa's advantage to 61-45 with 13:20 remaining.
The Braves continued to build their lead. Two free throws from Willis and another three-pointer from Khan gave Ottawa a 66-45 advantage. Price later scored with 11:03 remaining to give the Braves their largest lead of the night, 70-48.
Baker attempted to rally, using a 20-6 run to cut Ottawa's lead to 76-68 with 4:46 remaining.
The Braves responded when Harding converted two free throws before knocking down a three-pointer to extend Ottawa's lead to 81-71 with 3:41 left.
After Baker trimmed the deficit to seven, 83-76, with 2:37 remaining, Hull converted a three-point play to push the advantage back to double digits.
Ottawa closed the contest strong, getting baskets from Harding, Olmstead and Khan while converting free throws down the stretch to secure the 96-83 victory.
The Braves shot an impressive 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the field in the second half, including 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from behind the three-point line.
Inside the Numbers
- Jackson Harding led the Braves with 22 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. He shot 7-for-10 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
- Seb Khan finished with 18 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal. He shot 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
- Aries Hull recorded 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-for-6 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
- Aiden Olmstead added 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
- Jayven Price came off the bench to score 12 points, dish out six assists and grab three rebounds.
- Josiah Pattinson finished with 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
- Micah Willis added four points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
- Ottawa shot 57.4 percent (31-for-54) from the field compared to Baker's 44.3 percent (27-for-61).
- The Braves connected on 8-of-21 three-pointers (38.1 percent) and made 26-of-31 free throws (83.9 percent).
- Ottawa outrebounded Baker 38-26, including a 29-18 advantage on the defensive glass.
- The Braves finished with 19 assists, seven steals and three blocked shots.
- Ottawa held a 42-38 advantage in points in the paint and an 11-2 edge in fast-break points.
- The Braves scored 57 second-half points, shooting 69.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range.
- Ottawa led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
- Baker was led by Alex Gunnels with 23 points, while Cam Jones added 20 and Kameron Johns finished with 15.
Who is Next
Ottawa (3-1) is back on the road Tuesday, Nov. 10 in Seward Neb. against Concordia University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
