FULTON, Mo, - The William Woods University men's basketball team is set to host its second consecutive American Midwest Conference (AMC) tournament game in programs history on Tuesday night, as the team hosts Hannibal-LaGrange University for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
 
After dropping its final regular season game, 80-68 in OT against Missouri Baptist University last Saturday, the Owls (11-19, 8-14 AMC) were able to hold on to secure the eighth seed in AMC standings, winning the tiebreaker over the ninth seed, Hannibal-LaGrange.
 
In a back in forth game, that saw the score tied on 11 different occasions, WWU couldn't secure the victory down the stretch, as the team was outscored by the Spartans, 16-4 in OT.
 
The Owls had a four point, 62-59 lead with less than a minute to play, but MBU would put full court pressure on WWU and foul to stop the clock, with seconds winding down the Owls would hit only 4-of-8 of its free throws in the final minutes, giving the Spartans a chance for the victory.
 
Then with two Owl defenders in front of him and only .18 seconds on the clock, Missouri Baptist Bryce Weibrecht hit a clutch three pointer, tying the game at 64-64 and we headed into overtime in St, Louis. 
 
In the 5:00 minutes of overtime, the Owls struggled from the floor, only scoring four points, while the Spartans came out on a 7-0 run, turning the momentum in their favor and MBU went on hit the necessary free throws to secure the 80-68 victory.
 
The Owls ended the game shooting 40.3 percent from the field, although going 15-of-27 from the charity stripe. DJ Johnson, paced the way for WWU totaling 16 points and nine rebounds, Alec Mulivhill chipped in 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Nate Bitner ended the night in a dominating fashion playing a career-high 42:00 minutes, posting 14 points, five rebounds and five steals.
 
On the season, two Owl players are leading the way by averaging in double digits. DJ Johnson is netting 10.5 points per game and shooting 50.8 percent from the floor, while Bitner has pushed is average to 10.4 points per game and shooting a 37.8 percent from the three-point line. Johnson also leads the team in rebounds (5.5 per game) and blocks with 22 on the season.
 
The Owls close out the regular season averaging 65.9 points, while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
 
This will be the third meeting between the Owls and Trojans, as the teams split the season series, with WWU dropping the first meeting, 65-63 back on December 4^th inside Anderson Arena but then picking up the win, 65-62 on the road in Hannibal, Missouri on January 29^th.
Statically both teams match-up well, as in both previous AMC showdowns, it has come down to the wire in a nail bitter to determine who was going to escape with the win. The Owls averaged 64 points, on shooting 40.0 percent from the field against HLG, while the Trojans average 63.5 points and shooting 43.1 percent from the field.
 
In the first meeting, it was a team effort win for William Woods, as four players finished the night in double figures, who included Ryan Hill (14), Jarett Boss (11), Bitner (10) and Darrien Dickey (10), while in the second game, TaIRhe Turner recorded a career-high 14 points and Dickey contributed nine points.
 
HLG, meanwhile, ended the regular season last Saturday, with a 63-57 loss in the hands of Park University.
 
Offensively, Jay Jones paces the way for the Trojans, as the guard is averaging 13.7 points per game, shooting just under 50.0 percent from the field (47.3) and 35 percent from beyond the arc.
 
"We are excited to be hosting another AMC tournament game this year," said head coach Nick Totta. "Everything we have done this year, pre-season, non-conference and conference has come to this and everyone starts back with a 0-0 record."
 
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and score of this tournament game inside Anderson Arena.

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