Box Score FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team moved back to the .500 mark in American Midwest Conference play, as the Owls defeated Missouri Baptist 77-66 on Saturday night.
The Owls (5-11; 3-3 AMC), controlled the entire first half of play, as the team jumped out to a 21-4 advantage, capped off by
Seth Thomas hitting a three-pointer. WWU extended its advantage to 20 at 26-6, after
Jayson Saldana nailed another three-pointer for the Owls at the 7:19 mark.
William Woods couldn't miss in the frame, hitting 55.6 percent (15-of-27) of its shots from the floor and shot 46.2 percent from downtown (6-of-13), while the Owls defense held the Spartans to just 29 percent (8-of-27).
WWU held a comfortable lead for the final seven minutes of the half and headed to the locker room up 41-23.
Ryan Hill was the leading scorer in the first 20:00 minutes of play, totaling eight points, while Kalven Lewis led MBU with 14.
Missouri Baptist (2-11; 2-2 AMC), however, responded in the second half, going on a 16-8 run over ten minutes of play and cut the Owls lead down to just 10 at 49-39. WWU didn't let the run phase them, as they went on a 9-2 run of its own and extended its advantage to 17 points at 58-41 at the 7:57 mark, after Thomas drained his three-point shot.
"I was pleased that we responded well after they made a couple runs in the second half," said head coach
Nick Totta. "We held them at bay throughout the game and I was happy to see our defense step up," he added.
The Spartans tried to get back into the game, including being down just 11 (71-60) with one minute and 51 seconds remaining in regulation, but William Woods maintained its composure and kept the double-digit lead intact, going on for the 11 point victory.
WWU closed out the game shooting 52.1 percent from the field, led by senior
Blake Burgess totaling 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, grabbed down six rebounds and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. "He (Blake) was very aggressive and did a good job driving to the basket tonight," said Totta.
Jonathon Nutt also made it count from the free throw line, going 6-of-8 and closed out the evening with 11 points, while Thomas reached the double-figure mark for the third time in the past four games, finishing with 11 points as well.
Missouri Baptist shot 37.7 percent in the game and they were kept alive all night by senior Lewis, totaling a career-high 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Corey McKinney added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Chris Buzzell netted 10.
"At times, especially in first half, we played really well against Missouri Baptist," said head coach
Nick Totta. "Other times, however, we had spurts on defense that we lapsed and were fortunate that they missed some open looks," he added.
The Owls will look to build off this win, as they jump back in conference action on Tuesday Jan. 14
th at home against Benedictine-Springfield. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Fans should stay updated throughout the rest of the 2014 season for full previews and recaps on the men's basketball team.
