FULTON, Mo.- The William Woods University men's basketball team travels to St. Louis, Mo., tomorrow taking on the Missouri Baptist Spartans in a key American Midwest Conference showdown.
Currently the Owls (8-6 in AMC, 12-15 overall) are tied for fourth place with Williams Baptist, trailing only the Spartans (9-5, 15-13 overall) by one game. Last time out, William Woods suffered a 70-55 loss at the hands of the Park University Pirates.
The Pirates controlled most of the first half and led 37-28 at the end of the first 20:00 minutes, shooting 48.2% while holding the Owls to 34.4%. In the second half, Park continued to hold a double-digit lead and was able to go on for the 15 point win.
A few bright spots happened for the Owls including
Dontre' Jenkins becoming the all-time assist record holder, with 201 overtaking Dan Anderson at 198. Also,
Daniel Armah ended the night with 22 points and 20 rebounds, which is a WWU school record, breaking the previous mark at 19 rebounds.
The Owls and the Spartans met earlier this season at William Woods, and MBU ended up coming away with a 70-66 victory. The Owls led in the first half 33-31, with each team shooting exactly 48.1%.
Throughout most of the second half, both teams flip-flopped lead changes and with 4:39 remaining on the clock, WWU was clinging to a 58-55 lead after a two point basket that was made by
Daniel Armah. However, the Spartans answered back and the Owl shooting went cold, as MBU went on a 12-0 run, taking a 67-58 lead with 1:11 left in the game.
The deficit proved to be too much for WWU, with the Owls falling by four.
Logan Decker led the way with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Armah was second on the team in scoring adding 16, however, had a game high 14 rebounds.
On the season offensively, William Woods is led by Armah averaging 14.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game.
D.J. Hoskins is second on the team averaging 12.2 points per game, while Decker and
Jonathon Nutt are respectively are averaging 11.3 and 10.4 points per game.
Since the win over the Owls, the Spartans have picked up their play going 6-2, with only having losses to Park and #1 ranked Columbia College. MBU most recently went on the road to Williams Baptist, shot 47% from the field in the game and went on to win 88-75. Matt Holmes led the way for the Spartans, totaling 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds. LeAndre' Johnson leads MBU on offense, as the guard is averaging 14.7 points a game.
The game was scheduled for Thursday, but due to weather conditions and concerns, the game has been moved up a day to tomorrow night at Missouri Baptist. Tip-off remains the same and will start at 7:30 p.m.
