BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The William Woods University men's basketball team will get back into American Midwest Conference play Saturday afternoon, as the team pays a visit to (RV) Lindenwood University-Belleville for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
The Owls (4-9; 1-4 AMC) are in hopes to get back to its winning ways, as the team is coming off a 98-76 defeat in an exhibition game against Missouri S&T on Wednesday afternoon and a 64-53 loss to Division II Southwest Baptist University.
 
Against the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist, the Owls second half comeback fell just short in the final frame.
 
After trading baskets for the first 10:00 minutes of play, WWU found themselves down by 14 going into the half. The Owls shot 36 percent from the field, going 2-of-13 (15 percent) from beyond the arc, while only shooting 46 percent (15-of-32) from the charity stripe.
 
In the second half, the Owls offense came out with some momentum, as Jarett Boss connected with DJ Johnson, for the first basketball of the final frame. Then shortly after, Boss nailed a three-pointer, in hopes to give WWU an offensive spark and making the score 42-31 with 10:20 left to play.
 
Despite the Owls effort, the Bearcats would go on a 13-0 run, extending their lead to 56-35. Just like all season, WWU did not go down without a fight, as SBU offense went cold from the field, giving the Owls a chance to cut the Bearcats lead one possession at a time.
 
After being down as much as 21 points with only 10:00 minutes left to play, the Owls went on a 15-2 run, cutting Southwest Baptist lead down to single digits. At the 3:28 mark, Jerel Wilhite would sink two free throws, getting the Owls within six points, 56-50.
 
Although, the Owls battled back in the second half of the match-up, the team would come up a short, as the Bearcats would go on to secure a 64-53 victory and handing WWU its ninth loss on the season.
 
The Owls ended the night shooting 36 percent from the floor, leading the way was  Ryan Hill, who netted 11 points and grabbed six rebounds on the night. Johnson, ended the match-up right behind Hill, recording 10 points and five rebounds.
 
On the season the Owls are shooting 44 percent from the field, making 30 percent of shots from the three point line and averaging 66 points per game. Leading the way for WWU is Johnson, who is averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Hill, is right behind teammate Johnson, chipping in 11.2 points per game, while Bitner adds 9.4 points per game.
 
Lindenwood University-Belleville is currently 4-7 on the season and 2-2 in AMC play. To this point the Lynx's are on a three game losing streak, as the team has dropped their two AMC games to Columbia College and Park University right before the Holiday break.
 
On the season, Craig Anderson is leading LU offensively as he is shooting 46 percent from the field and averaging 22 points per game, which ranks him No. 5^th in the Nation in points per game.
 
Two other key players that the Owls will have to keep an eye on are Lawson Warren and Seth Kisler, who are both averaging 10 points per game and shooting over a 50 percent from the field.
 
Fans stay updated on wwuowls.com for score and full recap of this first AMC match-up of the 2015 year.
 
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