FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University men's basketball team earned its biggest win in program history on Saturday afternoon, as behind
Deon Pettigrew's program-high 35 points, the Owls defeated No. 3-ranked Freed-Hardeman University, 105-98.
This is the first time in head coach
Nick Totta's tenure that the Owls have beaten Freed-Hardeman University. Â
Pettigrew, a Tampa, Florida, native, sets the new single-game record in points, surpassing the previous mark of Dan Anderson's 32 points during the 2010-11 season.
On the afternoon, the Owls (12-6; 8-2 AMC), shot a blistering 55.4 percent from the floor and 55.0 percent from beyond-the-arc.
Pettigrew, was on fire from the floor in his 34:20 minutes, going 10-of-14, including going 5-of-6 from downtown and added six boards.
Kevin House, totaled 18 points and dished out a team-high seven assists, while
Austin Lowery contributed 14 off the bench.
Trey Mitchell and
DJ Johnson also had strong outings, as they each netted 13 points and combined for 10 rebounds.
Freed-Hardeman (12-5; 6-3 AMC), suffered its third consecutive loss and allowed over 100 points for the third straight game as well.
The Lions shot 46.1 percent from the floor and were led by leading scorer Orland Bass, who totaled a team-high 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Austin Dempsey went 6-of-14 from the floor, finishing with 15 points, while Evan Forhetz collected a double-double, totaling 14 points and handed out a game-high 10 assists. Isaiah Harrison also just missed out on a double-double, as he totaled 14 points and added nine boards. Sean Edwards, meanwhile, led the team off the bench, having 10 points.
The game couldn't have started better for the Owls, as they jumped out to a 13-3 lead in just four minutes time, after Johnson scored the put-back.
The Owls would continue to control the outing, as after Johnson went 1-of-2 from the line, WWU was ahead 30-18, with 8:11 remaining.
FHU would narrow the lead down to 30-21, after Fitzgerald Hopkins scored in the paint, but then William Woods couldn't miss from beyond-the-arc.
It all started with 6:28 left, as Pettigrew's 3-pointer, gave WWU a 33-21 lead. FHU would answer with a 3-pointer of its own, but on its next possession, Pettigrew connected from downtown again.
After a 3-point miss, FHU, got the offensive board and Forhetz hit his 3-pointer, which put the score at 36-27, with 5:43 left. The Owls came right down the court, however, as Mitchell sinked the teams' third consecutive 3-pointer.
Then after a Lions miss, Pettigrew hit his third 3-poitner in less than two minutes of action, which put WWU up 42-27. Bass' two-pointer, narrowed the lead down to 13 (42-29), but the Owls were hitting from everywhere, as Pettigrew drained another 3-pointer, which gave the Owls a 16-point lead.
The Lions, answered with another bucket in the paint, but Lowery hit the Owls sixth consecutive 3-pointer, giving them a 48-31 lead, with 3:58 remaining.
After shooting 60.6 percent from the floor in the first half, the Owls were able to head into halftime, ahead 55-36.
Pettigrew was unstoppable in the first half, totaling 20 points, while FHU, was held to a 36.1 field goal percentage and were led by Bass' 10.
In the second half,
Keith Jackson's basket, with 14:57 left, gave the Owls a 65-49 lead. The Lions, would get its offense going though, as they went on a 9-2 run, capped off by Bass earning the old-fashioned 3-point play and in the process, narrowed the lead down to 67-58.
William Woods, would get plenty of breathing room back, however, as Pettigrew made both of his free throws, which stretched the lead back out to 20 (85-65), with 8:04 left in regulation.
Over the next five minutes, FHU, wasn't going to go quietly, as they chipped into the Owls double-digit lead and were down by nine again, at 93-84, after Harrison got the offensive board and scored his put-back attempt with 3:12 on the clock.
Despite its late game efforts, including cutting the lead down to 104-98, the deficit proved to be too great for the Lions, which allowed the Owls to earn its best win in program history.
With this momentum gained, the Owls will head down I-70 next Saturday, as they have its eyes set on another top-five upset. WWU will take on No. 4-ranked Columbia College, who also defeated the Lions, 101-94. Tip-off starts at 4 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com next weekend for a full recap and score from Columbia College.
