FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University men's basketball team will look to start the 2015-16 season on a high note on Tuesday night, as the Owls host No. 20-ranked Tabor College inside Anderson Arena. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Owls, are coming off a 2014-15 campaign, which saw them go 12-20 overall, with eight of those wins coming in American Midwest Conference (AMC) play. The team won its opening round game of the AMC Tournament, 67-62 against Hannibal-LaGrange University, however, in the AMC Quarterfinals, the Owls ran into Freed-Hardeman University. The Lions were able to eliminate WWU from the postseason tournament, winning 80-62.
This year, the coaching staff has brought in plenty of new players, some of which are going to make an impact not only off the bench, but in the starting lineup as well.
Some of the players WWU fans will need to keep an eye out for tomorrow, include,
Kevin House,
Keyaire Marshall,
Trey Mitchell,
Keith Jackson,
Deon Pettigrew and
Bryan DeGeare.
House, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native, joins the Owls, after spending a season at Division I Washburn University, where the guard averaged five points and two rebounds per game.
Marshall, a Sedalia, Missouri, native, was a two-time Kaysinger All-Conference and All-District selection for Sacred Heart High School. He helped guide the Gremlins to multiple conference, district and sectional titles, while also leading them to a 2014 State Championship.
Mitchell, signed on with WWU, after spending one year at South Georgia Tech, where he averaged 13 points and five rebounds per game. The Chicago, Illinois, native, shot 43 percent from downtown and earned All-GCAA Tournament team honors.
Jackson, a Phoenix, Arizona, native, joins the Owls after spending his first years at Guilford Technical Community College, where he averaged 16 points, eight boards and three blocks per game.
Pettigrew, a Tampa, Florida, native, transfers to WWU after being with Drury University for two seasons, where he guided them to an Elite 8, conference and regional championship.
DeGeare, out of Crystal City, Missouri, will wear the Owls uniform for the first time this year, after spending last year at Lewis and Clark Community College. DeGeare, played in 28 games, while averaging 6.5 points and hitting 41.0 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
"I expect all six to make an impact and I see three to four of them starting this year, while the other two will come off the bench," said head coach
Nick Totta. "They need to have a positive impact in what we are capable of doing."
Also, returning from last year's squad, the likes of
Austin Lowery,
TaiRhe Turner,
Alec Mulvihill and
DJ Johnson will look to build off last year's season statistics.
Despite it being the first game on the year and all the new assets on the team, the Owls will look to make some progress and take some strides that they can build off of heading into this weekend.
"At this point of the year, we are trying to get better, as we have several new starters and players," said Totta. "We're working on gelling together and becoming a better team. So we are just looking for progress and hopefully experience it sooner than later."
Paying a visit to Anderson Arena on Tuesday night, will be the NAIA Division II No. 20-ranked Tabor College Blue Jays, who are coming off a 19-13 overall record in 2014-15, but went an impressive 15-3 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
The team returns two of its top four scorers last year and will be led by Malik Brooks, who finished with a 13.5 point per game average in 2014-15, which was second-best on the team. Lance Carter, who only appeared in 14 games, but when he did, he made an impact, as Carter averaged 12.3 points, while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and dished out 96 assists.
John Jedneak is also back for another season, as he looks to build off his 8.4 point per game average, while finishing second on the team in rebounds (146) and third in blocks (15).
"They've historically had a very good program," said Totta. "We know this is going to be quite a challenge for us, as they are very impressive, with a lot of strengths. Their athletic, they shoot it and really don't have a lot of weaknesses."
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from the Owls home opener.
