FULTON, MO. – The William Woods University men's basketball team looks to pull an upset against No. 20 ranked American Midwest Conference foe, Columbia College on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
The Owls (6-11; 3-6 AMC) suffered a heartbreaker last Saturday evening, as the team fell to Park University 66-65 in the final minutes.
 
The Owls controlled most of the first half, but then 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
On the season, Hill is pacing the Owls offensively, as the St. Louis, Missouri native, averages 12.4 points per game, shooting 55 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three point line.
 
DJ Johnson, is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11 points per game, shooting 51 percent from the field, while leading the Owls on the boards, collecting 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior Nate Bitner, has also chipped in 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
The Cougars are currently 14-3 on the season and 7-2 in AMC play. CC is on a five game winning streak, in which the Cougars have outscored their opponents in the past five games 412-268.
 
Offensively on the season, Columbia College is led by Guard, Zach Rockers who is averaging 11.9 points per game, as he has scored in double figures in the last past six games, while coming off a career high 29 points last Saturday night.
 
Another Key player the Owls will have to keep an eye on is Tanner Sutton, who is averaging 9.0 points per game and shooting over 40 percent from both the field and three point line.
 
The Owls will need to limit their turnovers and control the glass against the Cougars, which has been hard to come by for opponents, as they are outrebounding its opponents 659-592 and force 259 turnovers. However, the Owls are out rebounding opponents 635-620 and is shooting 44 percent from the field as a team.
 
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score of this AMC rival match-up.

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