Box Score PARKVILLE, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team won its third straight game and moved above the .500 mark in the American Midwest Conference, as the Owls defeated Park University on the road 81-73.
The Owls (4-9; 2-1 AMC), jumped out to a 21-16 advantage at the 12:17 mark on the Pirates (3-7; 1-2 AMC), after
Jayson Saldana knocked in a three-pointer. The team extended its lead out to 28-20, but then the Owls went cold from the floor, allowing Park to go on an 11-0 run over 6:00 minutes of play, and take a 31-28 advantage with 2:58 remaining in the opening frame.
WWU, however, responded well, closing out the final minutes of the first half on a 6-0 run of their own, capped off by Saldana knocking in another field goal, his 12
th point of the half, with .02 seconds remaining and put the Owls ahead 34-31 heading to the locker room.
The Owls shot 35 percent from the field, however, 18 (6-of-13) of their 34 points came from beyond the three point arc. Also, after going 4-of-10 from the free throw line against Harris-Stowe on Jan. 2
nd, the team improved drastically against the Pirates, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
It continued to be a battle between the two teams in the second half, and the Pirates were able to come back and tie the game up for the sixth time, at 44-44 after Marcus Johnson hit a three-pointer.
The lead changes continued for the next 12:00 minutes, but the Owls still were up 60-55, after
Jonathon Nutt hit his field goal. The Pirates, however, battled back tying the game back up for the seventh and final time, as Josh Lewis netted his field goal attempt with 5:05 remaining in regulation.
On the next Owls possession,
Nate Bitner was fouled on his shot attempt, putting the junior forward on the free throw line. Bitner, knocked in both of his attempts, which gave WWU a 62-60 lead and the Owls were able to hold onto its lead the final 5:00 minutes of the game against Park and go on for the eight point victory.
The team shot 44 percent from the field, led by
Patrick Lewis netting 16 points and going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, after only making 2-of-7 against Harris-Stowe. Saldana scored a career-high 15 points (5-of-6 shooting) off the bench for the Owls, providing a spark throughout the game.
Senior
Seth Thomas knocked in 14 points in 16:42 minutes played, including going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Nutt was the final Owl to reach double-figures, netting 12 on the day and dished out a team-high six assists. Bitner had another strong game off the bench, as he totaled eight points and grabbed down a game-high 10 rebounds.
"I thought PJ (Lewis), Seth (Thomas) and Jayson (Saldana), gave us a big lift against Park," said head coach
Nick Totta. "The guys really shared the ball and we took care of it, only having eight turnovers, so it was really good to see a lot of guys step up when needed," he added.
After missing 15 free throws against the Hornets in its previous game, the Owls shot a season-high 92 percent (22-of-24) from the free throw line. The team also set another season high, netting 50 percent of its shot from the three point arc.
"Our free throw shooting was outstanding today and was probably the difference in the game," said Totta.
Park shot 51 percent from the field, led by Xavielle Brown scoring a game-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting and was the main reason why the Pirates stayed close in the game. Josh Lewis was the lone other Pirate to score in double-figures, as he totaled a season-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.
The Owls will now look for its fourth win in a row, as they travel down to Arkansas and take on Williams Baptist College in a make-up game on Tuesday Jan. 9
th. Tip-off will start at 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.
Â
