SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Despite its valiant effort, the William Woods University men's basketball team fell in exhibition action against Division I Missouri State University, as the Owls were defeated, 77-56.
"I was really proud of how we competed," said head coach
Nick Totta. "We didn't shoot the ball well, as MSU did really good on making us take tough ones."
The Owls (4-3; 2-0 AMC), shot 28.6 percent from the floor and 60.7 percent from the charity-stripe, but had its struggles from downtown, as they went 7-of-29 (24.1 percent).
Leading the way on the afternoon was junior
Bryan DeGeare, who finished with 15 points, a game-high nine boards and three assists. "I thought Bryan played a complete game," said Totta. "He did other things to help us as well."
Austin Lowery added nine points off the bench, while
Darrien Dickey,
Trey Mitchell and
Deon Pettigrew contributed six points each.
Missouri State (1-4), meanwhile, shot 40.8 percent from the floor and they too struggled from downtown, as they went 4-of-20 (20.0 percent).
The team had four players reach double-figures, with Camyn Boone leading the charge, having a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds. Chris Kendrix totaled 12 points, while Dequon Miller and Jarred Dixon added 11 and 10 respectively.
In the first half, the Owls, trailed 13-5 at the 15:29 mark, after a two-pointer from Dorrian Williams. Over the next six minutes, the Owls would chip into the Bears lead and at the 9:23 mark, they trailed by just one (15-14), after Lowery went 2-of-2 from the line.
Then,
Darrien Dickey came up with a steal on the Bears next possession, and with numbers in its favor,
TaiRhe Turner passed it off to Lowery, who hit the layup and gave WWU a 16-15 advantage.
With 8:36 remaining, off another steal from
Keyaire Marshall, he passed it off to DeGeare, who found Kuschel in the paint and he scored his basket, putting WWU ahead 18-15 and forced the Bears to take a timeout.
The Owls would continue to hold its marginal lead until the 6:09 mark, after Boone scored on a layup, after an Owls turnover, which put the Bears up 23-22. The Bears fended off William Woods as the clock continued to tick down and with .44 seconds left, Hendrix drained the lone Bears 3-pointer of the half, which sent them into the break ahead 39-28, its largest lead of the half.
WWU shot 27.6 percent in the first half, but went 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Individually, they were led by DeGeare, who totaled nine points, four rebounds and two assists. Dickey added six off the bench, while Kuschel and Lowery netted four.
The Bears, meanwhile, were led by Boone and Hendrix, who netted 12 points each, while as a team, they shot 48.5 percent from the floor.
In the second half, MSU, stretched its lead out to 50-30, at the 16:00 minute mark, after Miller hit his jump shot. William Woods would continue to battle, as the team hit three consecutive 3-pointers, with Boss and DeGeare (two), finding the bottom of the net with eight minutes left, which put WWU down 62-43.
Pettigrew would go on to hit his jumper with 6:24 remaining, cutting the deficit down to 65-49, but that would be as close as the Owls would get, as the Bears would go on for the 21-point victory.
"I thought it was good to face that kind of talent and play with that free and lose with confidence," Totta said. "I think it was a good experience to play in a venue and setting like that."
The Owls will now return back to Anderson Arena for its fifth straight home game on Tuesday night, as the team hosts Haskell Indian Nations University. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Monday night for a full preview of its game against HINU.
