HANNIBAL, Mo.- The William Woods University men's basketball team looks to bounce back to its winning ways Thursday night, as the team pays a visit to Hannibal-LaGrange University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
In the Owls (7-13; 4-8 AMC) last outing last Saturday night, the team was not able to pick of the series sweep against Benedictine University at Springfield, falling to the Bulldogs 54-51 in a low scoring game.
 
Benedictine would jump out to a earlier 6-0 run and then would go on the control most of the first half, as the Bulldogs would extend its lead to double-digits (18-8) with 10:20 left to play. However, WWU would begin to claw back as Nate Bitner would sink a three pointer at the 5:12 mark, giving the Owls the momentum offensively that they needed, cutting the Bulldogs lead down to 27-21.
 
Shortly after, Junior, TaiRhe Turner would send the Owls into the locker room with the two point lead 31-29, as William Woods ended the first half shooting 36 percent from the field and were 5-of-12 from beyond the arc.
 
In the second half, Bitner started right where he left off in the first frame, as he hit another three pointer, making the score 34-29 in the Owls favor. Although, the Owls offense ignited a spark, the Bulldogs weren't going down without a fight. BU would take the one point lead at the 13:26 mark, pushing the score to 40-39.
 
WWU would get within two points of the Bulldogs with less than a minute to play but despite the hard battle, the Owls comeback down the stretch fell short, as Benedictine went on to secure the three point victory 54-51, over WWU.
 
William Woods closed the game shooting just 30 percent from the field, after hitting only 7-of-29 of their shots in the second half. Bitner, paced the way for the Owls with 12 points, while Jarett Boss added eight points and Austin Lowery chipped in six on the night.
 
Offensively, Ryan Hill leads the way for the Owls on the season, averaging 11.3 points per game, shooting 51 percent from the field and 34 percent from beyond the arc. Johnson, is right behind Hill, netting 10.8 points per game and leading the team in rebounds with 104 on the season.
 
The last time these two teams meet, back on December 4^th, it was another down to the wire game that the Owls just couldn't escape with the victory, as the team fell 65-63 to the Trojans. Hill led the way for the Owls with 14 points, while Boss was a spark off the bench with 11 points and Bitner chipped in 10 points.
 
The Trojans are currently, 5-13 on the season and 5-8 in American Midwest Conference play. In the team's last outing, HLG grabbed the victory over Missouri Baptist University 77-66 last Saturday evening.
 
On the season, Jay Jones paces the way offensively for the Trojans, averaging 14 points per game, shooting 45 percent from the field and has scored in double-digits in the teams last three games.
 
Another player the Owls will have to keep an eye on is newcomer, Daniel Piper, who has only played in eight games this season but in those eight games, Piper has averaged 9.4 points.
 
Fans check back on wwwuowls.com for a full recap and score of this AMC showdown from Hannibal, Mo.

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