MARSHALL, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team captured its second win of the season on a hot shooting night, while four Owls led the way in double-digits, as the team defeated Missouri Valley College 97-92, on Tuesday night.
The Owls (2-4), controlled the first half, after a back and forth start of game two of the series between WWU and the Vikings. Sophomore,
Ryan Hill gave the Owls its first lead of the game (14-13), after he drained his first three-pointer of the game.
The Vikings would then go on a 5-0 run and regain the lead with 9:13 minutes left to play, after Brad Hamilton would hit a field-goal behind the arc, giving MVC the one point lead at 22-21.
That was the last time the Vikings held the lead the rest of the first half, as the Owls offense turned on a hot switch, started by junior
Austin Lowery after hitting a three-pointer and giving the Owls a boast to go on a 20-9 run, in the next 6:00 minutes of play.
Nate Bitner would then hit his third three-pointer of the half, giving the Owls a 34-29 lead. The Owls would stay red hot, as Hill would hit back-to-back field goals and extend WWU largest lead of the half to 40-33. Less than a minute to play, Hill would sink his fifth three-pointer in the first frame sending the Owls to the locker room with a comfortable 48-37 lead.
William Woods couldn't miss in the frame from downtown, shooting a 68.7 percent (11-of-16), as the Owls came into the game only making 25 three-pointers total. The Vikings came into this match-up holding opponents to just 57 points per game, as they gave up 48 points to the Owls, going into the locker room.
There were three Owls who contributed with multiple three-point field goals in the first half, which could arguably have been the difference in the match-up, Hill (five) Bitner (four) and Lowery (two).
Hill lead all scorers with 19 points in the first half, as he went a remarkable 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The Owls came out of the locker room right where they left off in the first half, after Bitner hit the first field-goal and chance for a three-point play but couldn't convert on the bonus free throw.
The Vikings offense came out of the second half with a little more momentum, as MVC cut into the Owls lead possession by possession. Hamilton, the leading scorer for the Vikings on the night, hit a three-pointer with 9:00 minutes left to play, to cut the lead to 71-58, which would start a MVC 14-9 run to try to close the gap.
With less than a minute to play, off a missed Owls free-throw, Hamilton would go down and hit another three-pointer to come within five of the Owls, however, that would be the closest the Vikings would get, as Lowery would sink two free throws to secure a 97-92 victory.
WWU closed out the game shooting an impressive 68.8 percent from the field (33-of-48) and a blistering 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Despite getting out rebounded 37-29 and only shooting a 63 percent from the free-throw line, the Owls put together a strong shooting night to capture the road victory.
Leading the night for the Owls, with two stellar performances, were Bitner and Hill, as they both finished the night with a career high 25 points. Hill, the St. Louis native went 8-of-9 from the field, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and was perfect from the charity line (4-of-4). Bitner, the senior forward, was also red hot from the three-point line going 5-of-9, shooting a 58.8 percent from the field and recorded a team-high seven assists.
Lowery, the St. Charles native, ended the night going 5-of-7 from the field and shooting a 50 percent from downtown, and also handed out five assists in the match-up.
DJ Johnson was the fourth Owl to end the night in double-digits, with 10 points, while he led the team with eight rebounds.
"I am very proud of our guys tonight," said head coach
Nick Totta. "We have had some injuries and set backs that could very easily derailed us but the guys hung in tight, fought through the adversity and put themselves in a position to win."
Totta added, "They had many chances where they could of let things get sideways but again they were determined to fight through and get the victory."
The Owls tie the series against Missouri Valley this year 1-1 and return to action on Saturday night, as the team opens American Midwest Conference play, hosting Benedictine University at Springfield. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com for a full preview on the Owls first AMC match-up.
