FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University men's basketball team was able to bounce back on Thursday night, halting its two-game skid, as they defeated Williams Baptist College, 71-67.
The Owls (11-6; 7-2 AMC), shot 46.0 percent from the floor and dominated the glass, having a rebounding advantage of 55-34.
Leading the way on the stat sheet was
Deon Pettigrew, who earned himself a double-double, having a game-high 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while also snatching down 12 rebounds.
Kevin House had another strong game, totaling 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Keith Jackson, meanwhile, dominated in the paint and collected a double-double in the process, netting a season-high 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while totaling 10 boards.
Williams Baptist College (5-5; 3-4 AMC), prior to tonight, were coming off an impressive victory over No. 3-ranked Freed-Hardeman University, as in that game, they shot 54.6 percent from the field.
Against the Owls defense, they were held to just 32.0 percent from the floor and 25.6 percent from beyond-the-arc. Stanley Malcom and Demoine Brown scored a team-high 13 points, while Reece Dunlap and Tevin Howard scored 12 and 10 respectively.
It was all William Woods early on, as a two-pointer made by
DJ Johnson, gave the Owls a 15-3 lead at the 13:09 mark. The team would continue to maintain its advantage, as they were up 23-12, after Lowery made his basket in the paint, with 8:44 left.
The Eagles offense, then got going, as they got back into the game with an 8-0 run, as Howard's basket in the paint, cut the lead down to 23-20, at the 5:47 mark.
The Owls would push its lead back out to 35-27, after
Trey Mitchell hit his two point shot with .19 second left, but a late 3-pointer from Malcom, put WBC down just 35-30 at the break.
Despite having 11 turnovers, WWU shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first 20:00 minutes of play and were led by House's eight points. WBC, however, was held to just a 26.2 percent success rate from the field, but Malcom's 13 points paced the Eagles.
In the second half, the Eagles, were able to take its first lead of the game, with 17:06 left in regulation, after Demoine Brown made both of his free throws. Just seconds later, House's basket in the paint, would give WWU the advantage back at 37-36.
The team would gain some breathing room back, as with 10:57 on the clock, Pettigrew grabbed down the offensive board and scored the put-back, giving William Woods a 51-43 lead.
The Owls were still up eight (54-46), with 9:24 left, but the Eagles would go on another 8-0 run, capped off by Howard's 3-pointer, which tied the game back up at 54-all. After WWU regained the lead, Dunlap, hit a 3-pointer of his own, giving WBC a 57-56 advantage, with 7:08 remaining.
Williams Baptist College, at the 5:21 mark, stretched its lead out to 61-56, its largest of the game, after Marquez Chew scored off an Owls turnover. That lead was short-lived, however, with William Woods taking over on a 6-0 run, with Pettigrew's two-pointer, giving them the lead at 62-61, with 3:59 remaining.
Then, with 1:20 remaining, the Eagles, would tie the game, for the third time, at 67-67, after Braxton Gillespie drained a 3-pointer. After an Owls miss on the offensive end, the Eagles, who looked to take the lead with 1:20 left, got the ball stolen away, which allowed Pettigrew to score the easy basket and give WWU a 69-67 advantage.
House would go on to sink both of his free throws with .13 seconds remaining and secure the four-point win for WWU.
The team will look for a huge win in its next time out, as they will host No. 3-ranked Freed-Hardeman University on Saturday. Tip-off starts at 4 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview of its game against the Lions.
