The William Woods University men's basketball team looks to build on its best conference start in school history on Tuesday night as they host Williams Baptist College for an American Midwest Conference matchup. Tipoff for the game, presented by Jack's Gourmet Restaurant, is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
The Matchup
The Owls are 4-0 in the AMC for the first time in school history, but WWU is still looking to get back to the .500 mark as they are 8-9 overall.
The Eagles are 2-1 in the AMC with wins over Lyon College (78-67) and Park University (83-75) and the lone loss came against no. 2 Columbia College. WBC is currently riding a three-game winning streak that has pushed its record to 11-5.
Williams Baptist hold a big advantage over the Owls in points per game (79.4-69.1) and shoot slightly better (WBC - .431: WWU - .422) from the floor. William Woods has a slim edge behind the arc (.359-.355) and averages one more three-point make per game than the Eagles (WWU - 6.8; WBC - 5.8).
Each team has had its struggles at the line this season, but William Woods hold a slim lead (.666-.648) over Williams Baptist at the charity stripe.
WBC averages 8.7 more rebounds per game than the Owls (46.6-37.9).
William Woods is holding its opponents to 68.5 points per game on .439 shooting from the field and Williams Baptist is giving up 72.4 points per game and has allowed teams to shoot exactly .400 from the floor.
Last Time Out
William Woods continued its historic run on Saturday as they improved to 4-0 in the AMC for the first time in school history with a 73- 61 win over Lyon College.
The Owls got a pair of double-doubles from
Daniel Armah and
Jonathon Nutt. Armah paced the Owls with his third consecutive double-double and fourth of the year. The 6-6 senior from Ghana scored a team-high 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Nutt added 15 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double on the year.
The Owls trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and went into the locker room down 31-27.
The Owls tied the game early in the second half and used a 12-1 run capped by an Armah three-point play to put the game out of reach as they won 73-61.
Tied For First
The Owls are one of two teams in the AMC with undefeated records. The other is Columbia College who is ranked second the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches Poll.
The Comeback Owls
William Woods has overcome a halftime deficit in its last two victories.
In the 74-66 win over Hannibal-LaGrange the Owls found themselves down 23-7 early in the first half. The Owls would go on a 23-8 run to close the gap to one at 31-30. The Owls would go on and take the lead in the second half thanks in large part to 17-3 run to put WWU up eight, a lead they would never relinquish.
On Saturday the William Woods would find themselves down nine late in the first half at 25-16. The Owls would cut into the lead and were down four at half with the 31-27. Just like the Hannibal-LaGrange game, WWU would use a big second half run, this time of the 12-1 variety to put the game out of reach for Lyon College as William Woods would take the 73-61 victory.
A Black Star Export
Hailing from the African country of Ghana,
Daniel Armah has been a lifelong fan of the Ghana national soccer team, referred to as 'The Black Stars'. Not only is Armah a fan but he is a talented soccer player as well.
However, Armah is more talented in basketball. The 6-6 forward has been a force for the Owls since returning at the end of the first semester. Since his return he has averaged 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and has collected four double-doubles on the year. Armah has been exceptional of late as he has collected three straight double-doubles.
Will It Work In Peoria?
D.J. Hoskins and
Demarius Sumrell have both made an immediate impact for the Owls this year. The Peoria, Ill., natives have each stepped up into a leadership position for WWU this year. Hoskins averages 12.1 points per game on the year, good for third-best, while Sumrell leads the team with 19 steals.
Hitting From Downtown
The Owls hold a small margin in three-point shooting, with a .359 make rate to just a .343 pace for its opponents. The offensive pace is good for 32nd in the country.
William Woods hit a season-high 12 three point field goals in their 81-64 win over Haskell Indian Nations University.
Seth Thomas led the way for the Owls with his 5-of-6 performance behind the arc en route to a career-high 21 points, and is connecting at a .329 pace in his 14 games on the year.
D.J. Hoskins is also having a solid year, ranking 43rd in the country with a .417 make rate from downtown.
On The Boards
The Owls are slightly outrebounding the opposition, grabbing 645 on the year and allowing 577 for its opponents. WWU holds the edge on the offensive glass, nabbing 212 to just 166 for the opposition.
WWU is ranked 48th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (25.267) and 49th in total rebounds.
Adding To His Record
Already the school's all-time leading scorer,
Logan Decker added 10 more points to his total in Saturday's 73-61 win over Lyon College. Decker has accumulated 1,475 in his career and is 25 points short of becoming the school's first 1,500-point scorer.
Mix And Match
The Owls have done a bit of juggling in the starting lineup throughout the early part of the season, with 11 different players starting at least one game for WWU.
Logan Decker has been the only constant, starting all 15 games on the year for head coach
Nick Totta.
Since the start of conference play on Jan. 3 at Benedictine University at Springfield, coach Totta has gone with the same starting lineup of
Daniel Armah,
Logan Decker,
D.J. Hoskins,
Roy McElroy and
Jonathon Nutt.
A Look At Williams Baptist
The Eagles stand at 11-5 overall on the year and are 2-1 in AMC contests with wins over Lyon College (78-67) and Park University (83-75). Williams Baptist is riding a three-game winning streak and has won six of their last eight games.
Kyle Harvey leads a trio of double-digit scorers for WBC. The 6-5 senior leads the AMC in points per game with 18.6 despite averaging only 25.6 minutes per game. Zabian Sanders' 11.4 ppg pace is second on the team and Chase Norwood's 10.2 points per contest rounds out the group.
Harvey has been the go-to man this season for the Eagles. He has 52 more baskets and 70 more attempts than anyone else on the team. He has been efficient, as he shoots .483 from the floor on 117-of-242 shooting.
WBC shoots .355 as a team from behind the arc and is led by the .419 pace of Dustin House. House has hit a team-high 39 three-point shots on 93 attempts.
Not only is Harvey the conference's leading scorer, but he is also the league's leading rebounder with 8.3 caroms per game. He has collected six double-doubles on the year and is third in the nation in defensive rebounds with 6.37 per game.
As a team, the Eagles are second in the nation in both rebounds per game 46.625 and defensive rebounds with 30.875.
Williams Baptist has been particularly stingy giving up the three-point shot. WBC is the best team in the NAIA in defensive three-point percentage giving up a .276 success rate.
