Box Score FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team nearly pulled a huge upset over American Midwest Conference foe and No. 4 ranked Columbia College on Thursday night, but the Cougars were able to hold on and defeat the Owls 75-71.
The Owls (1-7; 0-1 AMC), got into a deep hole early against the Cougars, as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead, capped off by a Jeremy Nolen two point basket. WWU got on the board the next possession, as senior
Jonathon Nutt drained a three pointer, cutting the deficit to nine with 16:30 left on the clock.
The Cougars (7-0; 1-0 AMC) maintained a double-digit lead for the next 7:00 minutes and were up 24-14 on the Owls with just under 9:00 minutes remaining. The Owls offense then got things going and went on a 10-0 run, tying the game up at 24-24, after
Patrick Lewis nailed his two point basket.
Lewis sparked the Owls all game, closing out with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, making it three straight games for the Kansas City, Mo., native, to score in double-figures off the bench. "He gave us a real spark off the bench tonight," said head coach
Nick Totta. "He is pushing for more time on the court and this is the most he has played all year (25:38 minutes). He has a tremendous ability to get into the heart of the defense, take bumps and still finish his shots," said Totta.
The two teams went basket-for-basket the final 5:00 minutes of the first half and it was the Cougars heading into the locker room only up four on William Woods at 39-35.
The Owls defense held the CC offense to under 50 percent from the floor in the half (47 percent). The Cougars were led by reigning AMC Player of the Week Derrick Dilworth with 10 points, while Nutt had a fantastic first half netting 12.
In the second half, the Cougars continued to hold a minimal lead over the Owls, and with 10:06 remaining, they were up 60-49. Then,
Nate Bitner came down the court and hit a three pointer, cutting the advantage down to eight points at 60-52.
Columbia, however, went on a 9-2 run and extended its lead back up to double-digits at 69-54 with 5:52 left in the regulation. WWU has shown plenty of heart this season and did it again tonight, as they went on 17-4 run, erasing the Cougars double-digit advantage and were now down by just two points at 73-71 with .18 seconds left, after Nutt hit his field goal.
"He (Nutt) was big tonight for us on offense, he doesn't shy away from big games and making big time shots," said Totta. After Chantel Stanciel was able to go one-for-two from the charity line, the Owls got the ball with .10 seconds left.
Nutt drove down the court and got a pick from Bitner, who then was wide open at the top of the key, after Nutt drew two Cougar defenders. Nutt dished the ball out to Bitner, but the ball went off his finger tips and into the hands of
Columbia's Malik Ray who was fouled after he got the turnover.
"The players came over to me, called the play and I said that was fine," said Totta. "They ran it perfectly and if the ball was able to find Bitner's hands, he would have had an open three to tie the game," said Totta.
The Cougars were able to make one more free throw and escape Anderson Arena with a four point victory over WWU.
The Owls played well tonight, especially on defense, holding the Cougars offense to 50 percent shooting from the floor and 26 percent from beyond the three point arc. On offense, the Owls shot 46 percent, led by Nutt, scoring a game high 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting.
Nate Bitner led the Owls with a 38-33 rebound advantage, grabbing down a career high 11 rebounds and added eight points.
Columbia was led by Dilworth having 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting, while Jeremy Nolen had himself a double-double, netting 12 points and snatching down 10 rebounds. Devin Griffin added 13 points off the bench, while Gerardo Isla contributed nine.
"We contained the ball well tonight, as we made some defensive adjustments to make it harder for them to run their offense," said Totta. "Still, I was pleased when we got down, we responded very well, as in that situation it can snowball in a negative way," he added. "In the second half, we played very well and we had some moments where we could have taken the lead, but missed some opportunities."
The Owls will now travel on the road against Williams Baptist College on Saturday for another tough AMC game. Tip-off will start at 3:00 p.m.
"I am proud of this team's determination and if we play like we did tonight against a very good Columbia team, then I think we will win on Saturday," said Totta.
Fans should stay updated on wwuowls.com on this weekend for a full recap and score from Williams Baptist.
