Box Score HANNIBAL, Mo.— The William Woods University men's basketball team was able to escape with a big American Midwest Conference victory on Thursday night, as the Owls defeated Hannibal-LaGrange University 57-53, thanks in large part to seniors
Blake Burgess and
Jonathon Nutt who combined for 34 points.
The Owls (8-21; 6-13 AMC), jumped out to an 18-8 lead on the Trojans (4-23; 4-15 AMC) at the 10:58 mark, after
Klayton Kuschel knocked in his two-pointer. HLG, however, battled back and Taylor Wells cut the lead down to 20-17, as he hit one of the team's five three-pointers in the half.
That would be as close as the Trojans would get until the buzzer sounded, as the Owls headed to the locker room up 28-21. WWU shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field, while the defense held HLG to just 26.7 percent shooting (8-of-30).
With 13 minutes and 22 seconds left in regulation, the Owls still maintained its 10 point advantage (38-28), but things changed in just three minutes of play, as the Trojans went on a 8-0 run and now trailed 38-36, after Daniel Piper knocked in his two-pointer.
Then, for the first time in the game, the Trojans took a 39-38 lead, after Jay Jones hit a three-pointer at the 7:45 mark. Burgess was fouled on the Owls next possession and the Jacksonville, Ill., native was able to make both free-throws and put WWU back up 40-39.
Piper regained the advantage back in favor of HLG, draining his two-point shot, which put HLG up 41-40 with just under seven minutes left.
The Trojans would then extend its lead out to its biggest of the game at 50-44, with two minutes and 37 seconds left in the final frame.
The HLG offense, however, went cold from the field, which allowed the Owls to crawl back into the game and were down 50-48 with one minute and 26 seconds left, after Kuschel hit both of his free throws.
After a turnover by the Trojans on its possession,
Jayson Saldana got the steal and hit a big three-pointer, which gave the Owls the lead back at 51-50, with .48 seconds remaining. WWU was able to hold onto its lead the rest of the game, as Nutt was clutch from the free-throw line, going 6-of-6 from the stripe, which allowed the team to come away with the four-point win.
The Owls shot 37.3 percent in the game, led by Burgess having another strong outing, totaling a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbed down 10 boards in 35 minutes of play. Nutt contributed 16 points and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, while
Seth Thomas and Kuschel each netted six.
"Blake (Burgess) and Jonathon (Nutt) played really well for us," said head coach
Nick Totta. "They were the difference in the game," he added.
HLG shot 42.9 percent in the half, but the comeback fell just short, despite Piper and Jones netting 15 points each in the game, and combining for seven rebounds and six assists.
With the victory, the Owls now hold the No. 7 seed in the AMC standings with one game remaining left on the schedule before conference playoffs begin.
Up next for the team, is a trip to Henderson, Tenn., and meet No. 6 Freed-Hardeman University, who are on a two-game losing streak, falling to Columbia College 93-82 and Williams Baptist College 84-80 tonight.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview on the Owls final regular season game.
