Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo.-- The William Woods University men's basketball team could not overcome a .279 shooting performance in the first half as they lost 73-53 to no. 1 Columbia College in American Midwest Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls were down 5-0 after the first 30 seconds of play as Columbia College build its lead to 8-0 after a three-point basket at the 18:55 mark. Logan Decker would end the drought with his only basket of the day at the 17:56 mark in the first half.

Columbia College scored the next six points to give them a 12-2 lead forcing William Woods to take a timeout with 15:21 remaining.  Out of the timeout both teams would go scoreless over the next five minutes.

Columbia College would break the silence with a three-point basket to give them a 15-2 lead with 10:18 remaining.

Blake Burgess ended an 8:38 scoreless stretch for William Woods with a three-point basket at the 9:18 mark to cut the Owls deficit to 19-5.

Columbia College extended its lead to 28-9 after a reverse layup with a little more than five minutes remaining in the half.

A D.J. Hoskins three-pointer would bring the Owls within 15 at 28-13 and William Woods' defense caused a Cougars turnover on their next possession forcing Columbia College to take a timeout.

The Cougars would push their lead to 33-13 with a basket at the 2:34 mark, but William Woods would chip into Columbia's lead as they trailed 33-17 going into the half.

Columbia College extended its lead to 36-17 in the opening minutes of the second half to force the Owls to take another timeout.  Out of the break Hoskins would hit a two-point jumper that pulled William Woods within 19 points at 38-19 with just over 18 minutes remaining.

WWU continued to cut into the Cougar lead and trailed 44-27 with 15:12 remaining. The Owls went on a 7-4 run and cut the deficit at 48-34 with 13:09 left in the game.

A Burgess charge wiped off what would have been a Cougars basket and on their next possession Roy McElroy nailed a floater to put the Owls down 48-36 with 11:58 remaining.

The Cougars pushed its lead back to 53-36 after three free throws at 10:54 mark.  A three-point basket on their next possession would put the lead back to 18 points with 9:44 left in the game.

A Columbia layup extended its lead back to 22 with 4:31 left in the game.

Down the stretch the Owls would cut the Cougar lead to 16 points and that is as close as they would get as a late run would give Columbia College the 73-53 victory.

William Woods has now dropped three straight games.  They fall to 9-12 on the year and 5-2 in AMC play. Columbia College keeps its perfect season intact as they improve to 22-0 overall and 8-0 in the league.

The Owls had a tough time with the Columbia defense as they shot .339 for the game and only .222 from behind the arc. William Woods won the battle of the boards as they outrebounded the Cougars 44-34.

Blake Burgess collected his second double-double on the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds and D.J. Hoskins was the only other Owl in double-figures with 15.

The Owls will return home on Thursday as they host Benedictine University at Springfield. Tip-off for the game is scheduled at approximately 7:30 p.m.