14TH WIN, NO SWEAT: OKWU Eagles basketball team collects forfeit to remain perfect

Oklahoma Wesleyan University's men's basketball team captured win No. 14.

No sweat.

No, really. No sweat.

The unbeaten Eagles (14-0) captured a rare forfeit victory when Wednesday's scheduled opponent York (Neb.) College canceled out.

With the unexpected midweek break, OKWU had more opportunity to prepare for Saturday's December finale against McPherson (Kan.) College. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at the Mueller Sports Center on the OKWU campus.

Ninth-year OKWU head coach Donnie Bostwick and his staff have revved up the Eagles for their third most successful start during his tenure.

So far, this team has possessed those two quasi-physical, quasi-intangible qualities needed to rise to an extraordinary height — defensive toughness and team cohesion, Bostwick said.

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"Those are two things you have to have consistently every night," he said. "Defense travels and rebounding travels. … We're still not quite clicking offensively but we're getting there. This group had a very tough non-conference schedule, but they enjoy playing hard."

And, these Eagles have proven they can elevate their performance during the ragged edge of crunch time.

Last week, they gave up a huge second-half rally to Bethel (Kan.) College, but held on to win, 75-73, on a last second bucket by freshman Derrick Talton Jr.

"Bethel did a great of adjusting everywhere and hitting shots," Bostwick said. "I was very proud of how he handled that. … We showed a little more maturity than last year. … This was a great win at Bethel."

Even though Talton knocked down the winning shot, he wouldn't have been able to do it without a pass by Kaz Ammons at the last second, Bostwick said.

He also noted two other late plays that made a difference — Valentin Van Putten getting back on transition to prevent a layup and another Eagle player taking a charge.

The Eagles followed up by crushing Friends (Kan.) University, 81-61.

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OKWU's unselfish approach and team-oriented mindset can be ascertained by the stats — they have been leading the nation in assists and also are among the NAIA's best in defensive field goal percentage and steals.

"They're buying in as a group," he said. "Those guys know we're winning as a whole. They're more happy when a teammate does something than when they do it and that's too cool itself."

Among the veterans that have stepped up is Brandon Bird, who has turned in several double-digit scoring games.

"He's had leg issues the last few years," Bostwick said. "Plus, we had him playing out of position. He's such a talented player and it's not easy to play out of position, especially when you're not healthy. … His final year he's healthy."

Jayden Lietzke and Van Putten are two other returnees that have taken their games to higher levels — a lot of that due to their work this past offseason, Bostwick said.

Against Friends, Van Putten turned in one of his best career outings. Coming off the bench, he scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Kaleb Stokes, last year's leading scorer, hasn't been a 100-percent healthy for a good share of this season and has been making significant contributions as part of the second rotation.

"But, now he's starting to click," Bostwick said. "It's exciting to have depth and have nights were Valentin

Van Putten is your best player on the court. … He is happy if he scores two points or 20."

Even Thomas Jones, one of the lesser-used players, exudes a positivity that helps with the team glue.

Bostwick noted that during a recent timeout huddle, Jones encouraged his teammates and offered to get them a drink of water if they needed.

"These are special things," Bostwick said. "That's what so special about this team and why people are all excited about this team."

He used Talton as an example of a difference-maker.

The next game after he had hit the buzzer beater, "he took only two shots and made eight assists," Bostwick noted.

He singled out other players, including Ammons and Austin Poling, and others, who "are 100 percent heart and effort. … It's a long season. You have to learn to deal with so many little things. To have that maturity to do that every night and still come out and play hard is something you give your guys a lot of credit for."

Following Saturday's game, the Eagles swoop into the holiday/semester break and won't be back in action again until Jan. 5.

They'll have played 14 games in 43 days when Saturday's final buzzer sounds — and it should have been 15 contests.

So far, so promising for the Eagles.

Heart, effort, staying within the system, unselfishness, talent, athleticism and grit — seems to be working pretty good for OKWU.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles are 14-0