ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The William Woods University men's basketball team won its fifth consecutive game on Thursday night, as the Owls were able to hold off Missouri Baptist University, winning, 73-68.
"It was a gritty performance," said head coach
Nick Totta. "Anytime you shoot that poorly and find a way to gut one out, you start believing that they can come together and be a team that reaches its potential."
The Owls (6-3; 3-0 AMC), shot 39.1 percent from the floor, but played well defensively against MBU (3-4; 0-1 AMC), as they forced 21 turnovers and had four blocks.
Leading the charge on the night was
Deon Pettigrew and
Austin Lowery, who each netted 21 points. To go along with his 21-point outing, Pettigrew, a Tampa, Florida, native, also recorded his first double-double on the year, as he snatched down a game and season-high 13 boards.
"Deon and Austin continue to give us a lift offensively," Totta said. "They carried us tonight, but we become really good offensively when we get some of the others to step-up as well. We've been fortunate that we get different guys to step when others are not doing too well."
Lowery, meanwhile, went 8-of-14 from the floor and eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second time in the last three games.
Klayton Kuschel dominated on the inside for WWU, as he totaled a season-high 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
"Klayton gave us a lift too, as he continues to get better and I think it's because he is believing in his talent. His defense has also been excellent for us," said Totta.
Trey Mitchell contributed eight points, while even though
Bryan DeGeare and
Kevin House struggled from the floor, they contributed in other ways, as they combined for 13 rebounds and 13 assists. House dished out a season-high nine assists against the Spartans.
Missouri Baptist, shot 41.3 percent from the floor and had three players reach double-figures in points. Will Harrington led the way with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Stephen Bucker and Chris Buzzell added 13 points each.
The game started out well for the Owls, as they jumped ahead 11-2 at the 13:16 mark, after Kuschel made his two-pointer.
The Spartans would crawl back into the game, going on a 7-0 run, capped off by a David Gabrovsek basket in the paint with 9:59 left.
Over the next five minutes, the Owls would go on a 16-6 run of its own, to take a 27-17 lead, after Kuschel again scored in the paint. The Spartans responded with an 8-0 run, however, which narrowed the lead down to 27-25, with 1:53 remaining.
William Woods, would get the key basket when needed and despite a bucket from Harrington as the buzzer sounded, WWU headed into halftime ahead, 37-36.
The Owls shot 39.5 percent from the floor in the first 20:00 minutes, with Pettigrew having 12 points and six boards. MBU, shot 43.8 percent and were led by Buckner's nine points and John Caraballo's six rebounds.
In the second half, the Spartans tied the game up for the first time at the 17:57 mark, after Harrington scored in the paint. MBU would then take the lead at 42-40, after Harrington struck again with a two-pointer.
After forcing an MBU turnover, the Owls would quickly regain the lead, as Lowery drained a 3-pointer, off an assist from House.
WWU would hold its marginal lead until the 9:17 mark, as Buzzell hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Bucker, to make it a 52-50 game. With 4:34 remaining, Lowery would give the Owls its advantage back at 58-57, after hitting his two point shot.
The Spartans would then trail by one again at 67-66, with .50 seconds left, after Hernandez made both of his free throws. On its next possession, with the shot clock ticking down, DeGeare had to throw up a 3-pointer which fell short, but
Darrien Dickey, got the rebound and banked his shot off the glass and in, to give WWU a huge 69-66 lead with .22 seconds left.
With Pettigrew and Lowery combining to 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds, the Owls were able to hang on for the five-point victory.
WWU will now look for its program record sixth win in a row this Saturday on the road, as the team goes toe-to-toe against Harris-Stowe State. Tip-off starts at 4 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Saturday night for a full recap and score from St. Louis.
