Box Score FULTON, Mo.--- The William Woods men's basketball team dropped its fifth straight game on Saturday afternoon, as the Owls fell to Park University 67-58 inside Anderson Arena.
The Owls (6-18; 4-10 AMC), and Pirates (11-9; 9-4 AMC), were both cold from the field early in the first half, but it was WWU holding a 22-13 advantage, after
Blake Burgess knocked in a three-pointer with six minutes and 42 seconds remaining.
WWU didn't relinquish its lead the final six minutes of the half and headed to the locker room with some extra breathing room, as
Seth Thomas hit a two-pointer as the buzzer sounded and put the Owls up 35-32 after 20:00 minutes of play.
The Owls shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) in the first half and were led by
Jonathon Nutt, as the senior, who was coming off a 22-point outburst against Harris-Stowe, was off to another strong start, having 12 points. The slow start for both teams could have also been contributed to turnovers, as each squad had 11 in the half.
The Pirates would take its first lead of the game early in the second half, as Torr Woodhouse hit his two-point shot and put Park up 36-35 at the 17:05 mark. The Owls, however, would regain its lead on the next possession, as
Matt Helle knocked in his field goal, after the play was kept alive by Burgess grabbing down an offensive rebound.
The team would continue to hold its lead for the next five minutes, until Denzelle Cook, who got fouled on his shot attempt, was able to hit both free throws and put the Pirates up 42-41, with 12 minutes and 35 seconds left.
Park would push its advantage out to six over WWU (47-41) at the 11:29 mark, but the Owls would go on a 6-2 run and cut the deficit down to two points at 49-47, after
Dontre' Jenkins knocked in his shot from downtown.
That would be as close as William Woods would get until the final horn sounded, as Park was able to hit its free throws and escape with a 67-58 victory over the Owls.
The offense slowed down for WWU in the second half, as the team shot 25 percent from the field and just 18 percent from downtown. Park, meanwhile, shot 52.4 percent and after getting to the free throw line just five times in the first half, the Pirates got to the charity stripe 20 times in the final 20:00 minutes of play.
The Owls closed out shooting 36.2 percent in the game, and they were led by Nutt scoring 22 points for the second straight game, going 9-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Thomas contributed nine points off the bench, while Helle added six and Burgess, Jenkins and
Ryan Hill scored five points each.
The Pirates were led by their bench on the afternoon, outscoring the Owls 39-16, led by Josh Ross and Cook scoring 14 points apiece, while John Kostanos and Nigel Van Oostrum totaled 11 points as well.
WWU will now look to snap its tough losing streak on Feb. 13
th, as Lyon College pays a visit to Fulton, Mo. Tip-off for this game will start at 7:30 p.m.
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com the rest of the 2014 season for full previews and recaps on the men's basketball team.
