FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look to snap its two-game skid inside Anderson Arena against Hannibal-LaGrange University on Thursday night. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m. presented by Coldwell Banker Niedergerke & Co.
In its previous outing, the Owls (5-13; 3-5 AMC), led for 39 minutes and 15 seconds of the game at Mid-Continent, but the Cougars stormed back and shocked WWU 65-62. The team had a better field goal, free throw and three-point percentage advantage, but late turnovers proved costly for WWU.
Austin Lowery and
Damon Burrow made surprise starts for the Owls and impressed in the game, as Lowery scored the team's first six points and finished with 10 on the night, while Burrow added seven points.
"When you are in control of a game like we were at MCU and fall short at the end, it is a frustrating loss," said head coach
Nick Totta. "We did everything in that game to win, but in the second half, we turned it over way too many times. I was, however, proud of how our team responded from a loss against Benedictine University at Springfield," he added.
Out of the team's 13 losses on the season, 10 of those defeats came by 10 points or less, including its last two games, where WWU has fallen by a combined six points. "I have seen a lot of great things from the team in those close losses, but if the ball bounces our way on a few possessions or we tighten up our defense late in the game, those outcomes could have went our way," said Totta.
After going on a three-game winning streak from Dec. 29
th-Jan 2
nd, the team has now lost four out of its past five games, however, three of those losses came down to the wire. The Owls have put up 67.8 points per game, while surrendering 72.0 and leading the charge on offense is senior
Blake Burgess, averaging 13.4 points, shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and has grabbed down a team-high 28 rebounds.
Jonathon Nutt continues to be another threat on offense, scoring 11.2 points and has dished out a team-high 12 assists over the past five games.
On the season, Nutt (15.5 ppg) and Burgess (13.4 ppg), continue to have career seasons, while
Patrick Lewis has now bumped his average up to 10.0 points per game, after scoring double-figures in seven of the past eight games.
Hannibal-LaGrange (2-13; 2-5 AMC), is heading into the game against the Owls on a high-note, after the Trojans defeated Williams Baptist 73-68 its last time out. Daniel Piper paced the offense, scoring 24 points off the bench, on 8-of-16 shooting and added five rebounds, while Joe Reed and Jay Jones scored 12 and 11 points respectively.
The five-point victory over the Eagles, snapped the teams seven game losing streak, with five of those losses coming in conference play.
The Trojans are scoring 60.3 points, while its opponents are totaling just under 71 points per game (70.7). The team is shooting 42 percent from the field, led by Piper, averaging 13.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in just 10 games.
Jones is another player to look out for, as the sophomore guard is totaling 8.8 points and leads the team in assists with 39 (2.6 apg). Joe Williams, a six feet seven inch forward, is netting 50.8 percent of his shots from the field, while scoring just over eight points per game (8.2).
"They are going to control the tempo, and the amount of points a team scores in my opinion, doesn't define the team's success or lack thereof," said Totta. "HLGU is a lot like Lyon in our league, as they will run when the opportunity presents itself, but also slow down the offense when needed, as they are a very patient team," he added.
The Owls won both meetings against the Trojans last year and now have won six of the 10 games between the two squads.
Fans should stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score against Hannibal-LaGrange.
