The OKWU Men’s Basketball Team saw their season come to an end last night in the NAIA National Tourney. In the Elite Eight game the Eagles faced a tough Northwood University out of Florida.
Oklahoma Wesleyan started the game on a 9-5 run after Levi Mooney and Dominique Rambo hit on back-to-back three-pointers. Another three-pointer by Mooney gave the Eagles their largest lead (12-7) and they still led by two before Northwood outscored OWU 11-3 to give the Seahawks a 21-17 advantage. The scoring run continued for Northwood as they opened up a 12-point lead after four different players knocked down five three-pointers over a five minute span. Northwood made 7-of-10 three-pointers in the first half and led 37-25 at the break. OWU shot just 27% in the first half.
The Eagles mounted a comeback, scoring nine straight points to start the second half to get within three. That would be as close as OWU would get as a 13-4 Northwood scoring run would push its lead back up to double digits at the 13 minute mark. Oklahoma Wesleyan made one final charge, cutting it to six but the Seahawks defense took over, holding OWU to just one field goal over the final five minutes.
Oklahoma Wesleyan was held to just 31% shooting from the field by the Northwood defense and 18% from the three-point line. Levi Mooney netted 17 points, hitting 5-of-12 from beyond the arc, while Dominique Rambo also scored 17. Murray Shaw added 10 and Sadiel Rojas, the tournament’s all-time rebounding leader (164), scored nine points and totaled 11 boards in his final game. The Eagles finish the season with a 29-5 record.