BATESVILLE, Ark.—The William Woods men's basketball will look to bounce back off its 17-point loss at Williams Baptist and gain a win on the finale of its three-game road trip against Lyon College. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Owls (4-10; 2-2 AMC), and Eagles headed to their locker rooms all tied up at 37-37 at the end of the first frame. In the second half, the Owls jumped out to a 43-42 lead, after
Blake Burgess knocked in a three-pointer at the 18:04 mark.
WBC, however, responded on its next possession, as James McClain grabbed down his own missed shot attempt and scored on the put-back, putting the Eagles ahead 44-43. Williams Baptist held an advantage for the next nine minutes, but the Owls would narrow the deficit down to just four at 65-61 after
Matt Helle netted his two-pointer.
That would be as close as the Owls would get, as the Eagles closed out the game on a 26-13 run and went on for 91-74 victory.
WWU had four players score in double-figures, led by Burgess totaling 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor. For the fifth straight game,
Patrick Lewis reached the double-figure plateau, scoring 12 points, while
Seth Thomas also added 12 and
Jonathon Nutt contributed 10 points.
On the season, Nutt leads the team with a career-high 16.6 points per game average and leads the team in assists with 45. His previous season-high average was during the 2011-12 season, when he finished with 11.4 points per game.
Burgess, a Jacksonville, Ill., native, is also having a career year, averaging 13.8 points per game, leads the team in rebounds with 80 and is shooting 44 percent from the floor. Since entering the starting lineup against Missouri Valley back on Dec. 16
th, Lewis is putting up a team-high 14.3 points per game, upping his season average to 10.4.
Nate Bitner has been another factor for the Owls on offense, as the junior forward is netting 9.6 points per game and is shooting 94 percent from the free throw line.
Lyon College (3-10; 2-1 AMC), is coming off a tough 57-52 road loss against No. 3 ranked Columbia College. Devonte Young was the leading scorer for the Scots, totaling 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was 6-of-7 from the three-point arc.
The Scots two AMC wins on the season came against Harris-Stowe State (69-56) and Williams Baptist College (88-66). Both those point totals, surpass what Lyon is averaging on the season, as they are putting up 62 points per game, which is 18 points less than what the Owls are scoring (80).
The team is shooting 45 percent from the field, led by Jordan Layrock, who is averaging 16.2 points per game, leads the team in rebounds with 85 and has surpassed the 30-point mark twice this season.
Young, will be another shooter the Owls will need to keep an eye on, as he is putting up 13.3 points per game, is nailing a team-high 54 percent from downtown and has scored in double-figures the past six games, including a 40-point outburst against Williams Baptist on Jan. 2
nd. Ben Worlow leads the Scots from the field, netting 52 percent of his shots
from the floor, while averaging 7.3 points per contest.
Defensively, the Scots are holding its opponents to just 66 points per game, shooting 43 percent from the field and 31 percent from the three point arc. Lyon holds a rebounding average of 405-389 through 13 games played, but has trouble holding onto the ball, as they have 187 turnovers, while only forcing 124.
Fans should stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score from Arkansas.
