BATESVILLE, Ark. – The William Woods University men's basketball team got back to its winning ways on Thursday night, in a hard fought battle against Lyon College, as the Owls escaped with a 92-85 OT victory.
The Owls (13-7, 9-3 AMC), captured its ninth American Midwest Conference (AMC) win on the season and grabbed the season series sweep over the Scots, however the second time around was not as easy for WWU.
The Scots came out hitting back-to-back three pointers, giving them the early 6-0 lead. The Owls got its offensive rhythm shortly after, as a
Kevin House's three pointer cut the Scots lead down to one (6-5).
Then at the 7:48 mark, Lyon put together a 7-2 run, extending its lead back out to eight points, after a Justas Narusas bucket, making the score 25-17. WWU responded in its next two consecutive trips down the court, nailing three pointers from the hands of
Trey Mitchell and
Austin Lowery, putting the Owls within two (25-20).
Shortly after, with 2:29 left until half, House took control, as the senior tied the game up at 33-33, hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line and next trip down, found his way all the way to the rim for two points and drew the defensive foul, sending him to the free throw line for the old fashion three point play, giving the Owls its first lead of the night at 35-33. WWU would head into the locker room with the 37-34 lead over the Scots.
William Woods ended the first 20:00 minutes of play shooting a 48.3 percent from the field and going 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Scots closed the first frame shooting an impressive 52.2 percent from the floor and were 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
The beginning of the second half was contradictory of the start of the game, as House picked up right where he left off, draining his second three pointer of the night and giving the Owls the 40-34 advantage.
Lyon College didn't go down without a fight, as the Scots clawed their way back and got within two points of the Owls, after going on a 7-0 run and making the score 52-50 at the 10:40 mark. Although WWU answered putting together a 6-0 run of their own, regaining the 58-50 lead.
WWU would hold on to its steady lead throughout the rest of the second half, as its defensive play was just as solid as its offense, up until the last .30 left of the game clock in regulation, as Lyon College's Joe Burt converted on a two point basket, making it a 76-72 game, right before a costly WWU turnover, gave the Scots Narusas an open three pointer, putting the game at 76-75.
Next trip down, the Scots Joe Burt would nab a defensive rebound and drew a WWU foul, giving him two opportunities from the free throw line. In the Owls favor, Burt converted on just 1-of-2, tying the game up at 72-72 and we were off to overtime in this AMC match-up.
In overtime, it was all WWU, as the Owls outscored the Scots 16-9. After going point-for-point early on, the Owls ended the night going 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch, which gave them the momentum to capture the 92-85 OT win.
William Woods ended the night shooting 45.9 percent and went an impressive 23-for-32 from the charity stripe, as Lyon College shot ball well, on 30-of-58 from the field.
House, who had a breakout night, recorded a season-high 25 points, on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a striking 12-of-13 from the free throw line, while the senior point guard also handed out eight assists.
Trey Mitchell also had a strong outing, as the guard also ended with a season-high mark of 21 points and six rebounds, while
Deon Pettigrew was the third Owl to finish the night in double digits, posting 20 points, shooting just under 50.0 percent from the field (6-of-13).
The team gets back to action, Saturday afternoon, as the team travels to Central Baptist College for a 4:00 tip-off.
