ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team will look to snap its three-game skid and get back to its winning ways, as the Owls travel to Harris-Stowe State on Thursday night. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Owls (6-16; 4-8 AMC), are coming off a tough 74-66 loss against Williams Baptist College on Feb. 1st, inside Anderson Arena. The team struggled from the floor, hitting 35.7 percent of its shots and just 25 percent (7-of-28) from downtown.
After trailing by double-digits throughout the second half, WWU battled back, as
Blake Burgess knocked in back-to-back three-pointers, cutting the Eagles lead down to 60-58 with six minutes and 58 seconds remaining in regulation.
That would be as close as they would get, however, as WBC was able to knock in some key shots and hit their free throws, as the Eagles went on for the eight-point victory.
Nate Bitner led the offense with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting and added seven rebounds, while senior Burgess was the final player to score in double-figures, totaling 13 points.
Since its win over Missouri Baptist back on Jan. 11
th, the Owls have lost five out of its past six games, averaging 67 points, but are only allowing 71 points on defense. Burgess has paced the Owls on offense, scoring 13.8 points the last six games, shooting 52 percent from the floor, 84 percent at the line, and leads the team in rebounds with 33 (5.5 rpg).
Patrick Lewis continues to be a threat at the guard position, totaling 10 points and shooting 48.6 percent, while teammate Bitner has scored in double-figures the past three games, averaging 9.8 points per game.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year, as the Owls won the previous matchup in Fulton, Mo., against the Hornets, winning 77-65. In that game, the Owls shot 46.9 percent from the field and had four players in double-figures, led by
Lewis scoring a team-high 16 points, while Nutt (13), Burgess (10) and Bitner (10), each eclipsed the 10-point mark and had strong games on both ends of the floor.
The Hornets (2-20; 2-10 AMC) also had four players in double-figures, but shot just 32.4 percent and they were led by James Kenner scoring a season-high 23 points and added nine rebounds.
The team has dropped its last four games, since it defeated Hannibal-LaGrange University (61-58), back on Jan. 16
th.
On the season, the Hornets are scoring 68 points, but are surrendering 83 points in 22 games this year. The offense is led by
Trevor Roberts, scoring 16.5 points and shooting 49 percent from the floor.
Joe Henderson and Kenner are other players to keep an eye out for, as the duo are both averaging just above 11 points, with Henderson hitting a team-high 55.9 percent of his shots and leads the team in rebounds with 206.
With just eight games remaining before the conference tournament, the Owls stand in eighth place, but are just one game behind the fifth seed, which belongs to Williams Baptist College.
Five of those games left on the schedule are against teams that are ahead of them in the American Midwest Conference standings (Park, Lyon, Missouri Baptist, Benedictine-Springfield and Freed-Hardeman), and with just three home games remaining, the team will have to win some important games away from Anderson Arena in order to move up the AMC standings.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score against Harris-Stowe.
