FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look to win its third in a row on the road against Park University on Saturday. Tip-off for the game will start at 4:00 p.m.
The Owls (3-9; 1-1 AMC), are coming off a 77-65 victory over Harris-Stowe last night, as the team shot 47 percent in the game, while only holding the Hornets to a mere 32 percent. William Woods controlled the game from start to finish, with four Owls reaching double-figures, led by
Patrick Lewis totaling 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Senior
Jonathon Nutt added 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while
Blake Burgess recorded a double-double, netting 10 points and tied his career-high in rebounds with 15.
Nate Bitner was one of the main reasons why WWU's bench outscored the Hornets bench 28-7 on the night, as the junior forward totaled 10 points.
The past three games, the Owls offense has been performing well, shooting 46 percent and averaging 81 points per game. Lewis has been solid from the floor, shooting 63 percent and netting 17.0 points per game. Nutt (13.0), Burgess (11.5), and Bitner (11.3), have scored in double-figures the last three games and have all been major facts when on the court.
In those three games against Culver-Stockton, Avila and Harris-Stowe, the Owls hold a combined advantage in shooting percentage, rebounding and points per game.
The Pirates (3-6; 1-1 AMC), have lost three of their past four games, including a 62-52 loss at the hands of No. 1 Columbia College last night. Park shot just 37 percent from the field, with Xavielle Brown and Denzelle Cook leading the way with 13 points each. Melvin Rowe was the lone other Pirate player to reach double-figures, netting 11.
Like the Owls, however, all six losses for the Pirates have come by 10 points or less, including losing twice to No. 13 Benedictine (Kan.) and (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene.
On the season, Park is led by Brown averaging 17.4 points per game, placing fourth in the American Midwest Conference and leads the team in rebounds with 52. Cook is another solid player for Park, averaging 12.4 points per game and makes it count from the free throw line, shooting 79 percent.
Statistically both WWU and Park are relatively similar, with the Owls having a better field goal percentage and points per game.
The Owls will look to continue to control the boards against Park, as WWU has totaled 487 rebounds in 12 games, while the Pirates have 358.
With that being said, WWU will have a size advantage against the Pirates, as their biggest player is John Kotsanos (6 feet 11 inches) and Torr Woodhouse (6 feet 8 inches), while William Woods has
Eli Fleer (6 feet 10 inches),
Klayton Kuschel (6 feet 8 inches),
Matt Helle (6 feet 7 inches),
Seth Thomas and Bitner (6 feet 5 inches) to control the inside game.
Fans should stay updated tomorrow night on wwuowls.com for a full recap and score on this conference showdown.
