PARKVILLE, Mo.—The (RV) William Woods University men's basketball team dropped its first American Midwest Conference (AMC) game on Saturday, as the Owls fell 82-79, against Park University.
The Owls (10-5; 6-1 AMC), roared back from a nine-point deficit with just under 3:00 minutes remaining and had chance to tie the game with .16 seconds left, as they trailed 82-79. Noel Surles missed both of his free throws and
Darrien Dickey was able to come down with the rebound, which allowed the team to call a timeout.
Out of the full timeout,
Austin Lowery's 3-point attempt missed and the Pirates (8-4; 6-1 AMC), were able to hang on for the win.
The Owls shot 40.6 percent from the floor and were led by
Deon Pettigrew's team-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and also grabbed down a game-high 11 boards.
Darrien Dickey, an Iberia, Missouri, native, netted a season-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while
Klayton Kuschel contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
DJ Johnson and
Trey Mitchell each added eight points, while
Keith Jackson posted six points off the bench.
The team did own a rebounding advantage of 43-39, while also dominating in the paint, as they outscored the Pirates, 32-20.
The Pirates, meanwhile, shot 38.7 percent from the field and were led by Xavielle Brown's double-double performance, as he totaled a game-high 32 points and added 10 boards. He went 6-of-17 from the floor and got to the line 19 times, making 17 of his attempts.
The lone other Park player to reach double-figures was BJ Watson, who finished with a season-high 19 points and dished out a game-high eight assists.
In the first half, it was the Owls jumping out to a 16-13 advantage, after Pettigrew drained a 3-pointer from downtown at the 12:15 mark.
Park, would respond, going on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes, capped off by Surles fast break two-pointer, which gave them a 20-16 lead. After
TaiRhe Turner's basket tied the game at 22-all, Pettigrew gave the Owls its lead back, with 7:54 remaining, as he got the steal from Mylin Jordan and was able to score on the break.
The team would continue to hold its marginal lead until Levi Mitchell hit his 3-pointer pointer, off an assist from Waton, with 5:31 left, to give Park a 31-29 lead.
The two teams' would flip-flop on lead changes, but with .55 seconds left, Watson gave the Pirates a 37-35 lead. Park thought they would be heading into halftime ahead by two, but after grabbing down an offensive rebound, Dickey scored the put-back and got fouled, which tied the game at 37-37, with .02 seconds left. He went on to sink his free throw, which allowed the Owls to go into its respective locker room, up 38-37.
The team shot 41.1 percent and were led by Pettigrew's 13 points and eight rebounds. Park, was held to a field goal percentage of 32.4, but Watson was keeping pace with Pettigrew, as he totaled 13 points as well.
In the second half, the Pirates would tie the score up for the ninth time, at 42-42, after Brown went 1-of-2 from the line. On its next possession, with 17:20 remaining, Dickey hit a 3-pointer, which gave the Owls a 45-42 lead.
Over the next eight minutes, however, the Owls offense went cold, which allowed Park to go on a 20-8 run, with Brown earning the old-fashioned three-point play, giving his team a 65-53 lead, with 9:41 left in regulation.
William Woods, would chip into the Pirates lead though, and would narrow it down to four at 73-69, after Mitchell hit a 3-pointer with just 4:32 to go. Park would gain some breathing room back at 80-71, after Brown made both of his free throws with 2:54 on the clock.
The Owls got back into the game with just seconds remaining, but with a chance to tie the game as the final horn sounded, Lowery's 3-pointer missed and WWU suffered a tough three-point loss.
The team will return to action on Tuesday, January 5
th, as they pay a visit to Lindenwood University-Belleville. Tip-off will start at 7:30 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Tuesday night for a full recap and score from Belleville, Ill.
