FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team fell to the hands of No. 10 ranked Freed-Hardeman, 74-53 on Tuesday night at Anderson Arena.
The Owls (4-7; 1-3 AMC) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game, after
Ryan Hill collected the Owls first field goal in the paint. Then
Klayton Kuschel forced a Lion turnover and connected with teammate,
DJ Johnson, who converted for two points. However, that would be the only time WWU would have the advantage in the American Midwest Conference match-up.
Freed-Hardeman would then go on a 8-2 run, sparked by the Lions hot three-point shooting by Ben Meis and its pressure defense, which forced the Owls to commit 11 turnovers in the first 20:00 minutes of play.
At the 9:46 mark,
Jarett Boss would try to give the Owls offense a boost of energy, as he knocked down a three-pointer, putting the score at 13-18.
Then the Owls next possession,
Derrick Hayes was able to cut FHU lead down to just three points with a field goal but that would be the last time WWU was able to keep the deficit in single-digits, as the Lions closed the first half on a 21-6 run to hold a 41-22 lead going into the locker room.
The Owls shot 32 percent (8-for-25) in the first frame, while Freed-Hardeman found offensive momentum, shooting a 46 percent (15-for-32) from the floor, including a red hot 43 percent (7-for-16) from the three-point arc.
Boss, led the Owls offense in the first half, as he was a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, collecting six points.
In the second half, the Owls came out and hit the first two field goals, just like the beginning of the match-up. Although, the Lions offense continued to stay hot from the field, shooting again over 45 percent from the field, as they were able to out scored WWU 33-31 in the final frame and go on for the 21 point victory.
On the night, William Woods finished shooting 32 percent from the field, led by
Alec Mulvihill with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Hayes and Hill both contributed nine points on the night, while
Nate Bitner added eight points.
Despite a cold night of shooting, the Owls defense held the Lion's leading scorer, Cameron Lewis to just five points but didn't have an answer for Ben Meis, as the guard collected a game-high 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting and going an astounding 6-for-11 from downtown.
The Owls jump right back into AMC play on Thursday night, as the team hosts Lyon College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com tomorrow for a full preview of this AMC showdown.
