FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look to halt its two-game skid and pick up an important American Midwest Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, as Williams Baptist College pays a visit to Anderson Arena. Tip-off is set to start at 4:00 p.m.
The Owls (6-15; 4-7 AMC), suffered an 81-59 loss at the hands of No. 6-ranked Columbia College on Thursday night. The team struggled from the floor, shooting 35.6 percent in the game, including just 22 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
"We just weren't mentally tough against Columbia," said head coach
Nick Totta. "I thought we played better in the second half, but we just missed some open looks."
Senior
Dontre' Jenkins paced the offense, finishing with a season-high 13 points (5-of-9 shooting), while junior forward
Nate Bitner added 10 points and five rebounds.
Blake Burgess was limited to nine points, but did grab down a team-high seven boards. The team also got help off the bench from
Ryan Hill and
Austin Lowery, who scored nine and seven points for WWU.
The loss against the Cougars was the team's fourth in the past five games, but it was the first time since Jan. 7
th where the team was defeated by more than 10 points, which was against none other than its opponent on Saturday Williams Baptist.
During the last five games, the Owls are averaging 67.6 points per game, while opponents are holding a slim advantage, scoring 70.4 points. Burgess has led the team scoring 14 points, hitting a team-high 53.8 percent of his shots from the field and has totaled 27 rebounds (5.4 rpg).
Patrick Lewis continues to be a bright spot for the offense as of late, scoring 11 points and draining 53.6 percent of his shots from the floor.
Through 11 games in conference play, the Owls are scoring just under 70 points (69.9 ppg), while its opponents hold a mere 1.2 advantage on the scoreboard, totaling 71.1 points against WWU. Burgess has fared well in the AMC, totaling a team-high 12 points, shooting 82.6 from the free throw line and has 67 rebounds (6.1 rpg).
Lewis will look to keep running past conference defenses, as the junior guard has hit 53.7 percent of his shots and put up 11.8 points per game.
This will be the second meeting between the two squads, with the Eagles (10-9; 4-7 AMC), winning the previous game 91-74, behind the offensive performance of James McClain who scored a game-high 29 points.
Since its win over WWU, however, WBC has lost five out its last seven games, including a 68-64 defeat at Park University on Thursday. Kevin Charles led the Eagles with 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting and went a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
On the season, the Eagles are scoring 86.5 points and they are led by McClain (19.0 ppg) and E.J. Rucker (18.1 ppg), as the duo ranks second and third respectively in the AMC in points per game. Charles has appeared in only 11 games for WBC, but is a threat when on the floor, averaging 17.8 points and hitting 45.7 percent of his shots from the field.
"We need to make them uncomfortable on offense and reduce their field goal percentages," said Totta. "A player like McClain, he can beat you off the bounce and hits enough three-pointers that he can keep defensive players honest. It will be important for us to contain the dribble against their offense," he added.
The Owls will look to get its offense back on track against an Eagles defense that has allowed 79.6 points and teams to hit 48 percent of its shots in AMC play.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com on Saturday night for a full recap and score from Anderson Arena.
