FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look to build off its near upset of No. 1 Columbia College and put a halt to its four game losing streak, as the Owls host Missouri Valley College tomorrow night at Anderson Arena. Tip-off will start at 7:00 p.m.
The Owls (1-7; 0-1 AMC), nearly pulled its biggest win on the early 2013-14 season against then No. 4 ranked Columbia. WWU trailed by three points at 74-71 and had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer with .10 seconds remaining, however, the team turned the ball over and the Cougars were able to add another free throw and go on for the 75-71 win.
"Even after that tough loss against Columbia, we have to stay positive, as the easy thing to do is get down mentally," said head coach
Nick Totta. "When you play a good team like that, we just can't afford to give them extra opportunities," he added.
Senior
Jonathon Nutt led the Owls with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting, making it eight straight games the Palmyra, Mo., native, has reached double-figures.
Patrick Lewis had a strong game off the bench for the Owls, totaling 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting and was a major spark for the team.
On the season, the Owls are averaging 83 points per game, led by Nutt putting up 19.8 points per game and making 44 percent of his shots from the field. His 19.8 average places him second in the American Midwest Conference and 24
th in the NAIA.
Another senior having a career year, is Jacksonville, Ill., native
Blake Burgess, who is netting 14.1 points per game, making 43 percent of his shots from the floor and is second on the team in rebounds with 42.
This will be the second meeting between the Owls and Vikings (7-5; 1-2 HAAC), as they last met all the way back on Nov. 4
th, where MVC defeated a charging WWU team 89-81.
The Owls had a better field goal percentage and three point percentage than the Vikings, but couldn't overcome a 14 point first half deficit at 48-34, where they had 12 turnovers and shot 39 percent from the floor.
Burgess led the Owls with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while Nutt added 18 points and
Klayton Kuschel grabbed down a career-high 10 rebounds.
"It was our first game of the year against Missouri Valley, we had some growing pains early on, but got better especially in the second half," said Totta. "They are a quality team, with very balanced scoring, so we have to contain multiple players on the court," he added.
The Vikings are shooting 40 percent from the floor, with James Lane leading the charge, after making his season debut against MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 14
th, totaling 20 points on 10-for-16 shooting off the bench.
Brad Hamilton, who scored a game-high 25 points the last time these two teams met, will be another player the Owls will need to keep an eye on, as he is averaging 13.1 points per game. Other players putting up double-figure points per game include
Andre Scott (12.3), Jim Thomas (11.7), Raviel Burton (11.3) and Jacob Powell (10.5). Burton is a solid inside presence for the Vikings, as he leads the team in rebounds with 95 (7.9 per game) and blocks with 33.
Both teams are averaging 40 rebounds per game and coach Totta will look for a big game from his inside players. "We need our guys like
Eli Fleer,
Matt Helle and
Nate Bitner to have big games on the boards," said Totta. "As a team defensively, we have to put ourselves in a position to get a good matchup, screen off and go grab the board," he added.
Despite the teams overall record, coach Totta has continued to see improvement in his team since the season opener against the Vikings and hopes it can continue in the rematch, where they come out with a victory.
"We have gotten better, some of it has been getting mentally stronger and putting ourselves in great position to compete in all these games," said Totta. "Our offense is starting to improve from transition to half-court, but we must get better defensively," he added. "We have been close in a lot of these games and if we play like we did against Columbia, then there is a good chance for us to gain a win."
Fans should stay updated tomorrow night on wwuowls.com for a full recap and box score on this rematch from Anderson Arena.
