Box Score ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The William Woods men's basketball team couldn't maintain its 11-point first half lead, as the Owls fell in overtime to Harris-Stowe State 82-81.
The Owls (6-17; 4-9 AMC), played by far one of its better first frames on the season against Harris-Stowe (3-20; 3-10 AMC), as the team shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the floor, including 70 percent (7-of-10) from downtown and went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
The game was tied 10-10 at the 15:48 mark of the first half, and then WWU took over, as they exploded on offense, going a 16-0 run and extended its lead out to 26-10 with 11 minutes and 27 seconds remaining, after
Seth Thomas knocked in his three-pointer.
The team would control the rest of the first half, holding a double-digit lead the final 11 minutes of the frame and headed to the locker room up 45-34.
Nate Bitner continued to shoot the ball well for the fourth straight game, as the junior netted 10 points in the half, while
Blake Burgess and Thomas added three boards each.
After holding its double-digit lead until the 13:11 mark of the second half, things then fell apart for WWU, as the Hornets went on a 11-0 run of its own and tied the game up at 54-54, after Trevor Roberts hit a three-pointer with eight minutes and 23 seconds left on the clock.
The two teams would then continue to have multiple lead changes, and for the fifth time in the game, it was all tied up at 64-64, with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. HSSU would retake the lead at 66-64, after Tony Flagg knocked in his two-pointer and would hold its marginal lead over the Owls as the clock continued to tick down.
With just .27 seconds left, the Owls were down by five (73-68), but would not be denied, as
Jonathon Nutt was fouled on the Owls next possession. The Palmyra, Mo., native, knocked in both of his free throws, which cut the lead down to three points at 73-70, with .23 seconds on the clock.
Then, the WWU defense came up big, forcing a Hornet turnover and Nutt got the ball and found senior Thomas who drained a huge three-pointer and tied the game up at 73-73, with .08 seconds remaining.
The team had another chance to win with a walk-off, as the defense forced yet another Hornet turnover, but Thomas's three-point attempt at the buzzer missed and it was off to overtime.
In overtime, the Hornets jumped out to a 76-73 advantage, but Burgess knocked in his two-point shot, cutting the deficit down to one at 76-75, with three minutes and 25 seconds remaining.
Harris-Stowe didn't relinquish its lead for the next three minutes of play, but were still only up by one (82-81), with .40 seconds left. After a missed free-throw by the Hornets, the Owls had another chance to win the game, but after a missed his three-pointer, the defense forced yet another turnover, which got WWU the ball with seconds remaining.
The team had one final look as the horn sounded, but the three-point attempt missed and the Owls fell in heartbreaking fashion to Harris-Stowe by one point.
Statistically, it was a flip-flop from one half to the other for both squads, as after shooting 67.5 percent in the first half, the Owls shot just 31.4 in the second half and overtime, while HSSU knocked in 51.6 percent of its shots from the floor.
After battling through a tough stretch offensively, Nutt returned back to his early season form, as the senior scored a team-high 22 points (5-of-9 shooting) off the bench for the Owls and went 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
Thomas, who has missed the past couple games to a concussion, knocked in 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Bitner reached double-figures for the fourth straight game, netting 12.
The Hornets were led by Jacob Lloyd scoring a career-high 26 points (9-of-15 shooting) and knocked in six three-pointers. Roberts continued his stellar play, scoring 22 points, while Flagg contributed 13 and Joe Henderson scored 12, but played a big factor on the boards, grabbing down a career-high 21 rebounds on the night.
The Owls will now return home to Anderson Arena and play host to Park University on Saturday Feb. 8
th. Tip-off is set to start at 4:00 p.m.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com throughout the rest of the 2014 season for full previews and recaps on the men's basketball team.
