FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team downed eighth seed Missouri Baptist University, 73-67, in the AMC Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Owls advance to its second straight AMC Championship contest.  
 
DaShaun Stark led the Owls with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Brandon Vice followed with 17 points and Trey Mitchell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points. Deon Pettigrew led the Owls with 12 rebounds in the contest. WWU shot 45.0 percent from the floor.
 
With the win the Owls advance to the AMC Championship contest where they will host sixth seed Harris-Stowe State University at 7 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
 
Game Flow
The Spartans offense got off to a fast start in the contest as they scored 10 points in the first three minutes of the contest. After a Chris Buzzell three, the Spartans led the Owls 10-4. Missouri Baptist continued to lead by six, 14-8, after a pair of Pablo Hernandez free throws.
 
William Woods continued to battle and after a Brandon Vice knocked down a three-pointer the Owls led 17-16, with 11:14 left in the first half. After the Owls took the lead, the Owls and Spartans continued to trade leads and a three by DaShaun Stark put the Owls head, 24-22, with 8:10 left in the contest.
 
Both teams would trade leads over the final eight minutes of the first half and a Stark jumper in the paint put the Owls ahead 37-35, with 1:39 left in the contest. WWU stretched its lead to 41-37 lead into halftime after a Stark grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to end the half.
 
Scoring slowed down to open the second half of the contest as a Johnny Benson jumper in the paint put the Spartans down 44-43, with 16:35 left in the contest. Over the next minute of the contest, the Owls and Spartans tied the game twice and the last time on a Benson jumper with 15:04 left in the contest.
 
Deon Pettigrew broke the tie when he hit a three with 14:48 left in the game putting the Owls ahead, 51-48. WWU grew the lead to six points, 54-48, after a three-point play by Jonny Woolf. However, Missouri Baptist answered back and tied the game at 56-56.
 
The next trip down, Stark converted a three-point play putting the Owls ahead, 59-56, with 9:11 to go in the contest. After taking the lead the Owls did not give the lead up for the remainder of the contest. Missouri Baptist would get the lead down to one on multiple occasions but WWU came back and grew the lead back to five points, 67-62.
 
DaShaun Stark sealed the win for the Owls as he threw down a dunk with 12 seconds left putting WWU ahead, 73-67. With the win the Owls advanced to face Harris-Stowe State University in the AMC Championship.
 
By the Numbers
36 – WWU scored 36 points in the paint
24 – DaShaun Stark led the Owls with 24 points
12 – Deon Pettigrew led the Owls with 12 rebounds in the win
3 – William Woods had three players score in double-figures
5 – WWU hit five three-pointers in the contest
70.0 – The Owls shot 70 percent from the free throw line
17 – Brandon Vice scored 17 points in the contest
5 – William Woods had five block shots in the contest