FULTON, Mo. – The No. 19 William Woods University men's basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule with an 82-77 victory over College of the Ozarks on Tuesday evening at Anderson Arena.
 
Deon Pettigrew led the Owls with 17 points on the contest. Trey Mitchell and Torin Washington followed with 16 points apiece to round out the double-figure scores for the Owls. Brandon Vice led the Owls with nine rebounds in the contest. WWU shot 50.8 percent from the floor in the win.
 
William Woods returns to action on Saturday, January 14th when they host No. 6 Columbia College in American Midwest Conference action. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
 
Game Flow
The Owls offense came out cold and the Bobcats came out firing as the College of the Ozarks scored the first nine points of the contest over the first three minutes of the game. During that stretch, the Owls were 0-5 from the floor. Antonio Winn got the Owls on the board four minutes into the game as he hit a three-pointer putting the Owls down six, 9-3.
 
William Woods continued to battle and after a Trey Mitchell basket in the paint, WWU found itself down four, 13-9, with 12:24 left in the half. College of the Ozarks had an answer and they grew the lead back to double figures after going on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. The Owls continued to battle back and after another Mitchell bucket, the Owls were down three, 24-21, with 5:11 to go in the half.
 
College of the Ozarks did not give up or allow the Owls to tie the game in the first half as they again stretch led lead back out. Cameron Paschke hit a three-pointer with 1:30 in the half putting the Bobcats ahead, 31-27. WWU closed out the half by scoring the final four points and trimming the lead down to two, 31-29, going into halftime.
 
William Woods offense came out on fire in the second half as the team shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half against College of the Ozarks. WWU made its first two shots in the half by Torin Washington and Keyaire Marshall, and WWU took a two-point lead, 33-31, for its first lead of the contest.
 
The lead did not last long as the Bobcats came back and tied the game and then grew its lead back to four points after a Kiefer Starbird jumper in the paint. The game would remain close and an old fashion three-point play by Deon Pettigrew gave the Owls a one point lead, 44-43, with 12:58 left in the contest.
 
After Pettigrew's basket, the Owls did not let the Bobcats get the lead the remainder of the contest. WWU begun to stretch as a jumper by Darrien Dickey put the Owls ahead by eight, 57-49, with 8:16 left in the contest.
 
With 3:47 left in the game, Washington hit a jumper putting the Owls ahead by 10 points, 65-55. College of the Ozarks would not go away and they trimmed the Owls lead down to five points, 67-62, after a pair of free throws. WWU answered each run and extended its lead back to double-figures. With the Owls ahead by 10, 82-72, the Bobcats scored the final five points of the contest but it was not enough as the Owls came away with an 82-77 victory to improve to 13-5 on the season.
 
By the Numbers
17 – Deon Pettigrew led the Owls with 17 points in the contest
16 – Trey Mitchell and Torin Washington followed with 16 points each
18 – WWU made 18 free throws in the victory
9 – The Owls came away with nine steals
17 – William Woods had 17 assists in the contest, led by DaShaun Stark with five
52 – WWU scored 52 points in the paint
62.5 % - William Woods shot 62.5 percent in the second half of the contest
50.8 % - The Owls shot 50.8 percent from the floor in the contest
39 – WWU's bench scored 39 points in the victory