FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University Men's Basketball team could not hang on to pull an upset over No. 20 Park University on Saturday at Anderson Arena. Park hit a layup with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then outscored William Woods, 15-8, in overtime handing WWU a 112-105 defeat.
 
Game Flow
In a high scoring first half, the Pirates of Park and the Owls of William Woods offensive were off to a fast start as both teams were in double-figures scoring in the first four minutes of the half. With 15:19 left in the half, Park took a five point lead, 18-13. A minute later, the Pirates grew their lead to seven, 20-13.
 
Trailing by seven the Owls, slowly started to mount a comeback and after a two pointer by Austin Lowery, the Owls found themselves down three, 22-19. The Owls continued to trail by four points until a field goal by Lowery and Trey Mitchell tied the game at 27-27.
 
The Owls and Pirates continued to traded leads until a Lowery three point put WWU ahead, 38-36. After taking the lead, William Woods held the lead the rest of the half and grew the lead to five points on multiple times. WWU took a five point lead, 55-50, at halftime.
 
William Woods grew its lead to 10 points, 60-50, on a Lowery three pointer in the first 45 seconds of starting the second half. After taking the ten point lead, the Pirates and Owls traded baskets and with after a Klayton Kuschel jumper in the paint, WWU led 65-54.
 
After taking the 11 point lead, Park answered back as they scored the next six points trimming the lead down to five points, 65-60. The game remained close and Park took its their first lead in second half, with 11:24 left, after a Levi Mitchell three-pointer.
 
Once taking the lead, the Owls and Pirates traded leads and neither grow the lead to more than seven points for the rest of the game. With 6:39 left in the game, WWU took a six point lead after a Mitchell dunk. Two minutes later, Lowery hit a three pointer extending the Owls lead to seven points, 91-84.
 
However, the Owls could not hold onto the seven point lead as Park answered with a 7-0 run tying the game at 91-91. The game stayed tight for the remainder of the game and Kevin House put the Owls ahead, 97-95, with 24 seconds left. Holding for the last shot, the Pirates tied the game with three seconds left after a Noel Surles layup, forcing overtime.
 
In overtime, the Pirates scored the first five points of overtime and never looked back as they went on to win by 112-105 final.
 
Austin Lowery and Trey Mitchell both scored a career-high in the contest, Lowery scored 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Mitchell scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting.
 
By The Numbers
5 – The Owls had five players score in double-figures
30 – Austin Lowery scored a career-high 30 points in the overtime loss
27 – Trey Mitchell scored a career-high 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting in the loss
52% - The Owls shot 52 percent from the floor
12 – The number of three pointers the Owls hit in the contest
105 – The 105 points ties a season high for the Owls
38 – Ties the most made field goals for WWU in a contest this season
 
Upcoming Contest
The Owls return to action on Tuesday night when they host Lindenwood University-Belleville at 7:30 at Anderson Arena.