Bartlesville, Okla. – The No. 4-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles used a late first half run to break things open and went on to a 92-61 win over the Friends University Falcons in a KCAC matchup tonight (Jan. 17) in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Eagles came out with the first seven points of the game, but the Falcons fought back and clawed within 16-12 on a three by Deron McDaniel at the 11:01 mark of the opening half.

Playing with a lead the whole night, OKWU pushed the lead to 12 when DJ Talton Jr. scored five straight to finish off an 8-0 run and make it 24-12.

Still down 12, McDaniel again helped bring the Falcons closer with a three-pointer and two free throws to help trim the deficit to seven at 30-23 with 1:48 left in the half.

But the Eagles scored the final seven points of the opening half to take their biggest lead to that point of 37-23 at the break.

The Eagles then expanded their run to 11-0 with the first four points of the second half to balloon the lead up 18.

Friends hung around over the next several minutes and was within 14 at the 13:17 mark when the Eagles got nine points from Dylan Phillip to spark a 15-5 burst and pull out to a commanding 68-44 lead.

Following a three-point play by Al Emerllahu that made it a 19-point game, a 14-1 spurt by OKWU stretched the lead to 82-51 and sealed the win for the Eagles.

KJ Spiller led the Falcons (7-9, 4-7 KCAC) with 12 points and McDaniel finished with 10 points off the bench. Steele Chapman had team-highs of seven rebounds and four assists for Friends.

OKWU (16-1, 10-1 KCAC) placed five players in double-figure scoring, led by 22 points from Talton Jr., who was also a force defensively with six steals. Jaden Lietzke scored 16 and Phillip added 13 points. Jaden Wilson also had 13 points off the bench along with a team-leading eight boards.  Taylen Miller chipped in with 10 points and five assists, with Kaleb Stokes also recording five helpers for the Eagles.

The Eagles outrebounded the Falcons 29-24 and shot a blazing 60.3 percent (38-of-63) from the floor. Friends shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field and managed to outshoot the Eagles from the perimeter (36.4 percent to 28 percent).

Next up for the Falcons is a home matchup vs. Bethel College Saturday night (Jan. 20) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center.