FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look for its first win on the 2013-14 season in front of the home crowd on Saturday night against Graceland University. Tip-off will start at 7:00 p.m.
The Owls (0-2) are coming off another tough loss against Haskell Indian Nations University, falling 88-84. The Owls were led by seniors
Jonathon Nutt and
Seth Thomas, combining for 43 points, on 16-for-30 shooting, totaling 12 rebounds and four assists.
Eli Fleer had a strong second game, chipping in 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting off the bench, while
Blake Burgess was the other Owl to reach double-figures, adding 10.
With his 22 outburst against Haskell, Nutt needs just 10 points on Saturday to hit the 1,000 career point total mark, as he stands now with 990.
In the game, the team had a better shooting percentage from the floor and three point arc than the Indians, but what has given the Owls trouble in the two losses is turnovers, as they have totaled 38.
Head coach
Nick Totta knows that is something the team needs to cut down to win on Saturday. "Our biggest issue is not taking care of the ball these past two games," said Totta. "Defensively, we haven't been able to contain the dribble, which has allowed Missouri Valley and Haskell to penetrate and kick it out to a shooter for open looks."
"We are turning the ball over nine times more a game than our opponents, you cut that number down by half, then it gives us more possessions to score and a better chance to win," said Totta.
The Owls will look to make improvements against a Graceland (3-1) team that is averaging 92 points per game and shooting 48 percent from the field. "They really get up and down the court well and just two games ago they scored 120 points in a win over William Penn," said Totta.
"We are averaging 82 points per game, so something has to give, if we can find a way to stop them in transition and contain the ball, and we continue to score on offense like we have this year, then we can be successful in the game," said Totta.
On offense, the Jackets are led by Austin Danner, averaging 16.8 points per game, however, is only shooting 39 percent from the floor. Jamal Lawson will be another player to keep an eye on, as he is averaging 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Drew Emmert and Carl Martion are both shooting above 55 percent from the field and averaging 12.3 points per game.
"(Austin) Danner can really shoot the ball well, and as a team they have shot the ball well from three (37 percent)," said Totta. "The deal is they are quick going up the court and get easy looks at the bucket, which has allowed them to shoot better from the field, the three point line and free throw line than their opponents."
The Owls have only lost by a combined 13 points in the first two games on the year, and coach Totta knows they can get its first win on the season if they do two things. "Contain and take care of the ball, if we do those things against Graceland then tomorrow will turn out very well for us," said Totta.
Fans should stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score from the game.
