BOLIVER, Mo. – In its first game back from the Holiday break, the William Woods University men's basketball team fell to NCAA Division II Southwest Baptist University, 64-53 Tuesday night.
The Owls (4-9; 1-4 AMC) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, after a made free throw from
Ryan Hill and a field goal from
Klayton Kuschel. Southwest Baptist would then get on the board as Menas Stephens drained a three-pointer for the equalizing basket.
After trading baskets and not backing down to the competition, the Owls would regain the lead at the 13:28 mark, as
DJ Johnson hit a field goal inside the paint, giving WWU a 9-8 advantage.
However, that would be the closest the Owls would get, as the Bearcats went on a 10-3 run, extending their lead 24-12 with 6:43 left to play in the first half. SBU would close the first frame with a Derrick Stewart three-pointer with less than a minute to play, pushing the Bearcats lead to 14 and heading to the locker room with its largest lead of the half, 39-26.
In the first 20:00 minutes of play, the Owls shot 36 percent from the field, going 2-of-13 (15 percent) from beyond the arc, while only shooting 46 percent (15-of-32) from the charity stripe.
In the second half, the Owls offense came out with some momentum, as
Jarett Boss connected with Johnson, for the first basketball of the final frame. Then shortly after, Boss nailed a three-pointer, in hopes to give WWU an offensive spark and making the score 42-31 with 10:20 left to play.
Despite the Owls effort, the Bearcats would go on a 13-0 run, extending their lead to 56-35. Just like all season, WWU did not go down without a fight, as SBU offense went cold from the field, giving the Owls a chance to cut the Bearcats lead one possession at a time.
After being down as much as 21 points with only 10:00 minutes left to play, the Owls went on a 15-2 run, cutting Southwest Baptist lead down to single digits. At the 3:28 mark,
Jerel Wilhite would sink two free throws, getting the Owls within six points, 56-50.
Although, the Owls battled back in the second half of the match-up, the team would come up a short, as the Bearcats would go on to secure a 64-53 victory and handing WWU its ninth loss on the season.
The Owls ended the night shooting 36 percent from the floor, leading the way was Hill, who netted 11 points and grabbing six rebounds on the night. Johnson, ended the match-up right behind Hill, recording 10 points and five rebounds.
The Owls have a quick turn around, as the team gets geared to get back on the court tomorrow afternoon in an exhibition game against Missouri S&T.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for full previews and recaps on the rest of the 2014-15 season.
