Box Score
FULTON, Mo- The William Woods University men's basketball team wanted to not only celebrate Senior Day, but also earn a big victory over #1 ranked Columbia College. After trailing at the half by 10, the Owls almost made history happen, however, the comeback fell short as WWU lost 74-69.
The game was very fast paced in the first 6:00 minutes, with #1 Columbia leading 12-10, after a two point basket made by Derrick Dilworth. The Owls, however, continued to go bucket-for-bucket with the Cougars, taking a 20-15 lead, after a two point basket, nailed by
Daniel Armah, with 11:18 remaining.
The Owls shooting went cold, going 3:00 minutes without a bucket, which allowed Columbia to streak ahead to a 27-20 advantage, after Zach Rockers knocked in a three pointer. WWU's
Logan Decker cut the lead back down to four, draining a three, with 7:23 on the clock.
In the last 7:00 minutes, the Cougars closed out the half on a 21-11 run, however, a
Jonathon Nutt three trimmed the lead down to 39-31, with .36 second left. Columbia got the ball back and held on for the last shot, which allowed Devin Griffin to drive the lane and make a lay-up with .02 seconds left, that allowed Columbia to go up 41-31 at the half.
The Cougars had hot shooting all half, hitting 57.1% of their shots, and holding the Owls to just 39.3%. Columbia had won the first half on the boards, with a 15-13 advantage. Jordan Dressler led Columbia with 10 points, while
D.J. Hoskins led the Owls with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor.
The second half started out much better for William Woods, coming out of the locker room, going on a 9-2 run, cutting the lead down to 43-40, after
Jonathon Nutt knocked in a three pointer. Columbia, however, continued to hold a 59-50 advantage with 9:31 remaining.
Then, the Owls went on a 6-0 run, as
Seth Thomas knocked in a three-pointer, cutting the deficit down to 59-56 with 8:40 to go. Each team continued to go shot-for-shot the rest of the game, and the Cougars extended their lead with 5:51 left to 64-57, gaining some breathing room.
That lead didn't last long, as William Woods went on another run, this time 5-0, with
Daniel Armah hitting a two point shot, which put the Owls only down 64-62, with 3:14 on the clock and the momentum going towards the Owls.
Columbia came back down the floor and Jordan Dressler banked in a two pointer and was fouled on the play by Armah, which allowed Dressler to go to the free throw line and make his shot, pushing the lead back up to 67-62. William Woods answered right back with Decker knocking in a huge three, putting the deficit back down to 67-65 with 1:01 remaining.
The Cougars didn't let the crowd or the momentum bother them at the free throw line, as Columbia closed on out the game going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and held on for the thrilling five point win over William Woods.
The Owls did everything they could to pull the biggest upset in the NAIA this season, however, Columbia leaves Anderson Arena 30-0 in regular season play. On the stat sheet, William Woods nearly won every category including shooting 47.2% from the floor while Columbia shot 46.6%, the Owls shot 55% from the three point line, going 6-of-10 in the second half and at the free throw line the Owls made 80%, to the Cougars 75%.
Decker and
Blake Burgess led the way with 15 points apiece, and
Jonathon Nutt was third on the team with 11 points and eight rebounds. Dressler led the Cougars with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, guard Devin Griffin was second on the team chipping in 18 points and Derrick Dilworth was the final double-digit scorer finishing the night with 10.
William Woods ends the regular season with a (9-7 AMC, 13-16 overall) record. The nine conference wins is the most in WWU men's basketball history and now the team will get ready for the American Midwest Conference tournament. The team ends up as a #5 seed unofficially and looks to be headed to #4 seed Missouri Baptist on Thursday. Game-time is TBD.
