FULTON, Mo.--- The William Woods men's basketball team will look for its first win on the 2013-14 season, as they travel Haskell Indian Nations University on Tuesday night. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Owls (0-1), are coming off a tough 89-81 loss at the hands of Missouri Valley College in its season opener. Both team's got off to a slow start in the first half, but the Owls trailed by just two at 14-12, after a field goal by
Klayton Kuschel with 11:07 remaining.
The offense, however, went cold for the next 7:00 minutes, as the Vikings went on a 20-5 run, to take a 34-17 lead. Since Kuschel's basket, the team went 0-for-5 from the field, until
Jonathon Nutt made his shot and he was fouled on the play.
The senior was able to make his free throw and cut the deficit down to 34-20. To close out the half, the Owls went 5-for-9 from the floor and at the end of 20:00 minutes of play, the Owls trailed 48-34.
The Owls made adjustments in the locker room and the offense came out on fire, as the team went on a 17-5 run in the first 5:00 minutes of the second half, going 5-for-6 from the field capped off by
Seth Thomas nailing a three-pointer cutting the deficit down to one at 52-51.
Then, for the first time since the game was 1-0, the Owls gained its second lead of regulation at 53-52 on a basket made by
Nate Bitner. The team's then went basket-for-basket, but with 7:05 left on the clock,
Ryan Hill gave the team its largest lead of the game at 72-67. MVC, however, battled back and was able to take the lead at 77-76 with 4:35 remaining and go on for the eight point victory.
The Owls were led by Jacksonville, Ill., native,
Blake Burgess totaling a career high 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while teammate Nutt added 18 points and a game high five assists. What gave the Owls trouble was having 20 turnovers in the game and only forcing eight. Those 20 turnovers, turned into 23 points for the Vikings and that is something Head Coach
Nick Totta knows his team needs to cut down.
"We gave them turnovers, we had 12 empty trips and gave up way to many offensive rebounds," said Totta. "We have to shore those things up against Haskell, as we can't give the opponent more possessions than us. If we take away half of their rebounds and reduce our turnovers, we win that game against the Vikings."
The Owls travel to face a Haskell Indian Nations (0-3) team that is also searching for its first win on the season. The Indians suffered its third straight loss to Kansas Wesleyan University on Nov. 8
th, falling 91-81.
In that game, the Indians were led by Grant Proctor scoring a game high 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Dillion Thompson (14), Ron Rousseau (10), and Wilber Everett (10) also reached double-figures in points, with Rousseau grabbing down a game high 10 boards.
Coach Totta knows his offense has a tough task against a very defensive minded Indians team. "They are guarding and rebounding very well, holding opponents to 30 percent from the three point arc and the only thing that has bit them early this season is they have turned the ball over," said Totta.
In the three games thus far for Haskell Indian Nations, the team has had 60 turnovers, while only forcing 45.
"The team, however, is big as they start a 6-8 (Rousseau) and 6-10 (TsaLiDi Sequoyah) player and their guards are quick and feisty," said Totta. "So we are going to have to handle the basketball, push the tempo and force the issue, but when we get into half-court situations, we need to slow down and execute."
Offensively, the Indians are led by Proctor, averaging 13 points per game and shooting 57 percent from the field. Sequoyah and Rousseau bring size on the inside, as they are both averaging 10 points per game and are averaging six rebounds per game.
"Proctor, the point guard will be a player we need to control along with Sequoyah who has a nice touch around the basket and can alter some shots," said Totta. "Rousseau and Sequoyah will be a challenge, but we can match them with size and force them to take unwanted shots, reducing their field goal percentages."
Fans should stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score on this game.
