FULTON, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University men's basketball team improved to 5-0 in American Midwest Conference (AMC) play on Thursday night, as the Owls defeated Hannibal-LaGrange University, 78-71.
The Owls (9-4; 5-0 AMC), had another good shooting night, as they hit 48.5 percent of its shots from the floor and 41.2 percent from downtown.
The team had four players in double-figures and were led by
DJ Johnson, who was dominant all night, as he recorded his first double-double on the year. The senior went 13-of-15 from the floor, finishing with a career-high 26 points and tying his career-high with 15 boards.
Austin Lowery, a St. Charles, Missouri, native, earned all of his points from downtown, as he finished with 15 and four assists, while
Trey Mitchell contributed 13 points and four assists as well.
Darrien Dickey, made his first start on the year, netting a season-high 10 points and grabbed down seven rebounds.
Hannibal-LaGrange University (3-6; 2-3 AMC), was held to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor and were outrebounded 49-35 in the outing.
De'Shawn Terrell, totaled a team-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Tim Pace and D'Avonte Garland finished with 11 points each.
It was a back-and-forth game early on, but the Owls were able to grab a 17-11 lead with 13:48 remaining, after Johnson grabbed down the offensive board and scored the put-back. The Trojans, however, would respond, going on a 7-0 run, capped off by a Pace two-pointer, to take an 18-17 lead.
The Owls would regain its advantage a minute later and then stretch the lead back out to eight (34-26), after
Klayton Kuschel got the offensive board and also scored on the put-back.
Despite the Trojans cutting the lead back down to three (34-31), with 2:18 remaining, the Owls would head into halftime ahead 38-33.
William Woods shot 47.1 percent from the floor and were led by Johnson's 12 points and eight rebounds. HLGU, shot 38.9 percent from the field, with Terrell leading the way with 11 points and three rebounds.
In the second half, the Owls continued to maintain its marginal lead, as they were ahead 51-44, with 11:54 left, after
TaiRhe Turner made his two point basket.
Over the next four minutes, however, the Trojans would continue to chip at the Owls lead, going on a 13-6 run, capped off by Stephen Campbell hitting a 3-pointer, which put HLGU down 59-57.
Then, after a miss by WWU, the Trojans got the rebound, raced up the court and Campbell hit another 3-pointer, which gave them a 60-59 advantage and in the process, forced WWU to take a timeout, with 7:22 left.
Out of the timeout, the Owls got the lead back, as Mitchell hit his two-pointer in the paint, off an assist from Lowery. After tying for just the second time at 62-all, WWU earned the lead right back, as Mitchell sinked his 3-pointer, off an assist from
Deon Pettigrew, with 5:24 on the clock.
The Trojans, would continue to battle, and were down 73-71, with .55 seconds left, after Tim Pace went 1-of-2 from the line.
The Owls, then came down the court and with the shot clock ticking down, Lowery got a pass back outside the key from Johnson and he drained the three, giving WWU a 76-71 lead. That was more than enough for them, as Dickey added another basket with .07 seconds left, which secured the seven-point win.
WWU shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the second half, while the Trojans had its struggles, owning a field goal percentage of 36.4.
The Owls will now hit the road for an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon, as they pay a visit to Missouri S&T, in Rolla, Missouri.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Saturday night for a full preview of its game against the Miners.
