PARKVILLE, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaker on Saturday evening, as the team fell to Park University 66-65 in the final minutes.
 
The Owls (6-11: 3-6AMC) started the game strong and jumped out to a quick 12-3 lead at the 16:23 mark, after DJ Johnson grabbed a rebound and put back for an easy two points.
 
Shortly after, PJ Lewis would nail a two point field goal to put the Owls up by 10, which was the largest lead of the first half. WWU would then go on to outscore the Pirates 16-8. However, after digging themselves into an early hole, Park came marching back, as the Pirates Aaron Powers two point field goal cut the Owls lead down to five, 17-12.
 
After the Owls controlled most of the first half, Park would go on a 7-0 run with 9:36 left until half time, after Myles Whitehurst drove down the lane laying the ball up for two points and then was fouled. He hit the bonus free throw, for the old fashioned three point play and put the Pirates within two of the Owls, 17-15.
 
With less than five minutes left in the first frame, Park's Marcus Johnson would nail his third three pointer of the game to tie the game up 21-21. After trading basket for basket for the remaining of the half,  Ryan Hill would hit a field goal inside the paint getting the Owls within one of the Pirates but Park would go into the locker room with a three point lead. 30-27.
 
In the first half, the Owls shot 36 percent from the field and was led by guards Darrien Dickey and Hill who both netted eight points.
 
Coming out of the half, both teams came out with a mission, as the score was tied on eight different occasions in the final frame of the game and neither team had a lead in double-digits.
 
Hill would spark a Woods 10-4 run early in the final frame after cashing in a lay-up down the right side lane of the paint, giving the Owls a 37-34 lead. Park would answer with a 6-0 run of their own and regaining the lead 40-37.
 
At the 6:00 mark, Hill would collect another three point play the hard way, extending William Woods lead to five, 57-52 and the momentum to put the game away. Although, Park would convert on a WWU turnover and tie the game up at 60-60 with 3:00 minutes left to play.
 
As the game was neck to neck, coming down to the wire, the Owls would take its last lead of the game at the 1:08 mark, after Nate Bitner only made 1-of-2 at the free throw line. Park would come down the court and set up Mylin Jordan for a runner inside the paint, to give the Pirates a one point lead 66-65.
 
With less than a minute left in regulation, WWU come out of a timeout with an opportunity to take the lead and victory. However, despite the Owls hard fought battle, a costly turnover and a missed three point shot at the buzzer concluded the AMC showdown, as the Owls fell 66-65 to the Pirates.
 
WWU closed the game shooting better in the second half, ended the night going 21-of-52, shooting a 40 percent, while 12-of-15 (71 percent) from the free throw line.
 
Hill, paced WWU and led all scorers with 22 points, while 14 of them were just in the second half, going 8-of-11 from the field and a blister 6-of -7 from the charity stripe.
 
Dickey, a Iberia, Missouri native, ended the night with 10 points going perfect from both the field (2-of-2) and the free throw line (6-of-6), while Derrick Hayes chipped in nine points, Johnson added eight and Bitner recorded seven points.
 
"It was a tough loss," expressed head coach Nick Totta. "We got a great look at the end but we needed to execute better throughout the game to not have been in that position."
 
Totta added, "Right now execution wise, we are about as far a long as a team in mid November is rather than a team in mid January."
 
The Owls return to action next Thursday night, as the team host AMC rival Columbia College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full preview of this AMC rival.

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