MARSHALL, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University men's basketball team won a wild one on the road on Monday night, as a late basket led the Owls to an 87-84 victory over Missouri Valley College.
"It was a good win," said head coach
Nick Totta. "The game was three segements, in the first half, we played just well enough to be behind by one. We were fortunate to be that close. We talked at half about playing more relaxed and confident, and I thought the guys responded well for the first 15:00 minutes of the half, but then the wheels fell off."
He added, "Despite giving up the lead, we kept believing and found a way to win."
After leading throughout most of the second half, the Owls (8-4; 4-0 AMC), found themselves in trouble with .47 seconds left, as a 3-pointer by Brody Gronewold gave MVC (5-6; 2-3 HAAC), an 84-83 lead.
Out of the timeout,
TaiRhe Turner subbed in and made most of his opportunity, as he scored in the paint, off an assist from
Kevin House, to give WWU the lead back at 85-84.
The Vikings, had a chance to win the game, but Darryl Lemear's 3-point attempt missed with .02 seconds left. The Owls put the game away, with
Austin Lowery hitting both of his free throw attempts and giving William Woods the three-point win.
The Owls, shot 48.4 percent in the game, including shooting 53.6 percent in the second half alone. The team had four players in double-figures and were led by Lowery tying his career-high with 22 points off the bench. The senior guard went 6-of-12 from the floor, 5-of-8 from downtown and 5-of-7 from the charity-stripe.
"Austin was huge for us, as he has really come into his own and is playing really well," Totta said.
Making his first start on the season,
DJ Johnson had himself an outing, as he posted a season-high 15 points on 50.0 percent (7-of-14) shooting. House, meanwhile, netted 15 points as well, while Turner contributed a season-high 10 points off the bench.
"DJ helped us tremendously on the offensive end and I look for more big things from him as he gets more minutes," said Totta. "TaiRhe, really played well, and it was a good sign after a couple of tough games."
Missouri Valley, meanwhile, shot 47.8 percent from the floor and were led by Gronewold's game-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Lemear finished with 21 points on the night, while Bryon Cook added 11.
It was back-and-forth action throughout the first half, but MVC was able to take a 22-16 lead, with 10:46 on the clock, after Raviel Burton made both of his free throws.
The Owls would respond, going on an 8-2 run, capped off by Lowery's 3-pointer, which tied the game up at 24-all, already for the third time, with just over 9:00 minutes left.
Missouri Valley would regain its advantage and get the lead back to six (36-30), after Lemear made his two-pointer in the paint with 4:29 remaining. Over the next three minutes and change, WWU would go on an 11-3 run this time, with Lowery draining another 3-pointer off a turnover, to give WWU the lead back at 41-39, with .54 seconds remaining.
The Vikings would recover on its next possession, as Gronewold sinked a 3-pointer of his own, to put MVC ahead 42-41 heading into the break.
The Owls shot 44.4 percent in the first half, with Lowery leading the charge with 12 points, all of which came from beyond-the-arc. MVC, also shot 44.4 percent and with his 3-pointer before the half, Gronewold led all scorers with 13 points.
In the second half, the Owls jumped out to a 55-48 lead, with 14:02 left, after Johnson made his bucket in the paint. A Laquin Turner second chance bucket three minutes later, put the Vikings down just 57-54.
The Owls, however, put some distance between themselves and MVC, as they went on 16-5 run over the next five minutes, with
Deon Pettigrew hitting both of his free throws to give WWU its largest lead of the game at 73-59.
Things continued to look good for the Owls, as they were up 81-71 with 2:17 left, after
Darrien Dickey made his basket in the paint.
That all changed over the next minute, as the Vikings went on a 10-2 run, capped off by Bryon Cooke earning the old-fashioned 3-point play, which put them down just 83-81, with 1:25 on the clock.
Despite its effort and regaining the lead, Turner's basket and Lowery's free throws proved to be enough, which allowed the Owls to escape Missouri Valley with the three-point win.
WWU will now jump back into conference play this Thursday, as they'll host Hannibal-LaGrange University inside Anderson Arena. Tip-off starts at 7:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Wednesday afternoon for a full preview of its game against the Trojans.
