HENDERSON, Tenn. – To conclude its two game road series of the week, The William Woods University men's basketball team fell to No. 4 ranked Freed-Hardeman University 78-62 on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Owls (9-15; 6-10 AMC) couldn't quit pull off the upset of the year, as the team dropped the season series against the Lions, who are still sitting on top of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) standings, while WWU have claimed the eighth spot in the conference.
 
William Woods leading scorer, DJ Johnson would get the team on the board first, tying the game at 2-2, after Austin Lowery connected with him inside the paint for a two point field goal.
 
FHU would then go on a 17-8 run and after a two-pointer from Debrell Mclemore, the Lions would extend its lead to double digits, which was the largest lead of the half, making the score 20-10 with 12:14 to play in the first frame.
 
Then WWU would put together a run of their own, scrapping their way to tying the game up again at 29-29, after Darrien Dickey hit a three-pointer at the 3:53 mark. Despite the hard fight from the Owls, FHU would head into the locker room at halftime with a seven point lead,  39-32.
 
Both teams shot over 40 percent from the field but having a hard time to get in the groove from beyond on the arc, as there were just a combined of two three pointers made all half.  Johnson, lead the way for the Owls as he netted 11 points in the first 20:00 minutes of play.
 
Coming out of the half, it was all FHU as the Lions offensive came out with spark of energy, while the team controlled most to the second half.  Dickey tried to be the catalyst the Owls offense needed, as the freshman hit back-to-back baskets with less then 10:00 minutes to play, however it was not enough to stop the Lions, while FHU went on to collect its ninth straight victory, as they defeated the Owls 78-62.
 
WWU would finish the game shooting 40.6 percent from the field, just 29.6 percent from the three point line and as the team struggle from the charity stripe, only connecting on 5-of-17.
 
Johnson, had an impressive outing for the Owls, as the junior ended the game totaling a team-high 20 points, on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, while grabbing down six rebounds on the night.
 
Dickey, the Iberia, Missouri native, chipped in 13 points, going 5-of-9 from the floor, while making three of the teams four three-pointers in the match-up.
 
Even on an off shooting night for Freed-Hardeman, the team was still able to have four players end the night in double-figures, shot 50 percent from the field as a team, despite only hitting 3-of-15 of their shots from downtown.
 
The Owls will return to action next Saturday, as the team is back on its home floor, playing host to Lindenwood-Belleville University. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com next week for a full preview of this match-up. 

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