HENDERSON, Tenn. – The William Woods University men's basketball team won its second straight American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament contest, as the Owls defeated top seed Freed-Hardeman University, 92-82, on Friday night.
 
With the win the Owls advance to the AMC Championship game on Monday at 7 p.m. They travel to Columbia, Mo. to face Columbia College.
 
Game Flow
The Owls jumped out to a quick lead over the top seed Lions as they scored nine of the first 11 points of the contest. Trey Mitchell scored five of the first nine points for the Owls. Freed-Hardeman slowly started coming back and after a three point play by Orlando Bass, the Lions trimmed the lead down to one, 9-8.
 
The Owls and Lions traded baskets for the next few possessions and with 10:07 left in the first half, Trevor Randolph hit a three pointer, tying the game at 19-19. Ten seconds later, Freed-Hardeman took their first lead of the game as Bass hit a jumper taking a 21-19 lead.
 
Freed-Hardeman and William Woods led by one point, 29-28, however, WWU battled back taking a 30-29 point lead, after a Deon Pettigrew jumper. The Owls did not give up the lead the rest of the first half and took a 40-38 lead into halftime.
 
WWU opened the second half by stretching its lead to seven points, 46-39, after a jumper by DJ Johnson. The Owls continued to extend their lead and grew the lead to double-figures after a three pointer by Austin Lowery.
 
William Woods continued to extend its lead in the as the lead stretched to 15 points, 65-50, after a three pointer by Keith Jackson with 8:53 left in the contest. Freed-Hardeman slowly started coming back and trimmed the lead down to eight points, 68-60.
 
The Owls continued to lead the rest of the game and grew the lead back to 12 points, 83-71, with 2:15 left in the contest after a jumper by Pettigrew. The Lions cut the lead down to eight points but the Owls hit their free throws down the stretch and knocked off the top seed in the AMC Tournament, 92-82. This was the first loss of the season for the Lions at home.
 
By the Numbers
10 – Bryan DeGeare led the Owls with 10 points in the first half
8 – Kevin House collected eight assists in the first half
9-for-11 – The Owls were nine-for-11 on free throws in the first half
52 – The Owls scored 52 second half points
21 – William Woods scored 21 bench points outscoring Freed-Hardeman's bench 21-12
24 – WWU scored 24 points off Freed-Hardeman's turnovers
6 – The Owls had six players score double-figures
20 – Deon Pettigrew scored a team-high 20 points
 
Next Game
The Owls return to action on Monday, March 7 when they travel to Columbia, Missouri to face Columbia College in the AMC Championship game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.