FULTON, Mo.— The William Woods University men's basketball team will look to pick up its second win on the year in front of the home crowd, as the Owls host Avila University on Wednesday night. Tip-off starts at 7:30 p.m.
WWU (1-2), area coming off a 1-1 showing at the Cougars vs. Cancer Classic, as the team defeated Culver-Stockton College, 82-74, but fell to Cumberland University, 85-76, in the finale.
During those two games, WWU shot 42.4 percent from the floor and were led by senior
Kevin House, who averaged a team-high 14.5 points, while adding nine boards and 11 assists.
Bryan DeGeare, continued his strong play, as he averaged 12.5 points on 45.5 percent shooting from the field, while
Austin Lowery played well off the bench, averaging 11.0 points, hit a team-high 57.1 percent of his shots and dished out 12 assists.
Deon Pettigrew, meanwhile, grabbed down a team-high 13 boards, to go along with his 10.5 point per game average.
"We very easily could've won both games, had we shot and defended better in the second half," said head coach
Nick Totta. "Right now we are just trying to get better, mesh as a team and we know that's going to take some time."
On the season, WWU is putting up 76.0 points per game, while shooting 42.0 percent from the field. Leading the way, has been House, averaging 14.7 points on 46.4 percent shooting from the floor, 41.7 percent from downtown and 86.7 percent from the charity-stripe.
DeGeare, is second on the team in scoring average (11.0 ppg), but leads the team with 24 rebounds and four blocks.
DJ Johnson, is averaging 9.7 points off the bench and is hitting a team-high 56.5 percent of his shots from the floor.
Pettigrew, a Tampa, Florida, native, is scoring just over 9.0 points (9.3 ppg), but leads the team with eight steals. Lowery is averaging right at 9.0 points and is second on the team in field goal percentage (55.6 percent).
"We've had some good individual efforts and Kevin has scored, but we need other things from him as well," said Totta. "I thought Bryan played well Friday, Austin has given us a lift off the bench and Deon has had his moments."
Entering Anderson Arena on Wednesday, will be an Avila University (2-0) squad, which has put up at least 100 points in each of its first two games.
The Eagles are coming off a 100-98 victory over John Brown (Ark.) in its last time out. The team shot 48.5 percent from the field in the win and were led by Sedrick Johnson, who netted a game-high 33 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field.
"They have one of the best players (Johnson) we will see all year," Totta said. "When you play a team like that, you got to get back in defensive transition and have as many contested shots as possible. They're going to hit their shots, but we continue to work and make it tougher for them."
Trey Bales, netted 21 points on 50.0 percent shooting off the bench, while Nduka Ezeamii and Aaron Ward totaled 14 and 13 points respectively.
On the year, the Eagles, are averaging 107.5 points, shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from beyond-the-arc. Defensively, teams' have been able to only average 78.5 points and hit 42.1 percent of its shots.
Johnson, leads the way with a 26.0 point per game average, while owning a 51.4 field goal percentage. Bales, in two games off the bench, is averaging 25.5 points, and leads the team in three-point percentage (57.1), while, Ezeamii, is third on the Eagles in scoring average (17.0 ppg), but leads them in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent (12-of-19).
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Anderson Arena.
