Men's Basketball Draws Oklahoma Wesleyan

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Sterling, Kan. - The Sterling College Warriors will play Oklahoma Wesleyan University of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) in the opening round of the 20th Annual NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament. Oklahoma Wesleyan has a record of 27-4 and is currently ranked no. 7 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The game will take place on Thursday, March 10 in Point Lookout, Missouri on the campus of the College of the Ozarks at 9:15 pm. The game will be available on HKFM as well as on The Sterling College Sports Network as an audio broadcast.

Oklahoma Wesleyan is coached by Donnie Bostwick. The MCAC voted Bostwick the 2010-2011 MCAC Coach of the Year.

OWU is led by the 6'4" senior guard Sadiel Rojas, the MCAC Player of the Year. Rojas averaged 25.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game this year and had 22 double-doubles. Sadiel is a complete player and is ranked 1st in the nation in scoring and 2nd in the nation in rebounding.

MCAC Freshman of the Year and MCAC Honorable Mention Dominique Rambo is a player that makes Oklahoma Wesleyan go. Rambo is the point man both on offense and on defense, averaging 14.3 points and 3.2 assists per game on offense and ranking 2nd in the nation in steals on defense.

Oklahoma Wesleyan has two legitimate deep ball threats in Murray Shaw and Levi Mooney. Shaw has made 45 three's on the season, shoots 0.417 percent from behind the arc, and averages 12.5 points per game. Mooney has made 60 three's on the season, shoots 0.397 percent from behind the arc, and averages 8.3 points per game. Rambo will also shoot from the outside and has made 63 three's on the season while only shooting 0.318 percent from behind the arc.

Offensively, look for OWU to shoot a lot of three pointers and then crash the glass hard. OWU ranks 4th in the nation in three point field goals made per game and 1st in the nation in total offensive rebounds. Oklahoma Wesleyan will score points as they are ranked 10th in the nation in offensive scoring per game at 82.8.

Defensively, Oklahoma Wesleyan will look to pressure the Warriors into turning the ball over. OWU ranks 26th in the nation in total steals and thrives off of their opponent's turnovers. Sterling will also have to be smart with their shot selection as OWU will limit SC to one shot on most possessions. Oklahoma Wesleyan gives up only 9.2 offensive rebounds per game.

In the game, strength will match up against strength when OWU's offense faces Sterling's defense. The Warriors are 16th in the nation in scoring defense per game, giving up only 65.7 points per game. Sterling also ranks 17th in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 0.408 percent shooting from the field.

KCAC Player of the Year and unanimous All-KCAC First Team member Zach Goodrich will lead the Warriors into the game. Goodrich is averaging 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Zach is the senior leader for Sterling and the Warriors have been a different team since Goodrich entered the lineup 24 games ago after missing the first part of the season with a broken hand.

Cody Brazelton must have a good game for Sterling to be successful. Brazelton is Sterling's leading scorer and rebounder at 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Trent Stutzman will be Sterling's deep threat in the ballgame. Stutzman had made 85 three's on the season, tying him with Chris "Smoke" Schneider for a Sterling College single season high. Trent will break the record with just one more three point basket.

The winner of this matchup will face the winner of Cedarville (Ohio) and no. 10 Eastern Oregon on Friday, March 11 at 9:15 pm.