FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team used a strong second half to erase a six-point halftime deficit in route to a 72-70 victory over visiting Central Baptist College on Thursday evening. The Owls shot 76.2 percent in the second half in the victory.
 
With a two-point lead, 72-70, and 17 seconds left, Central Baptist had the ball and a shot to tie the game to force overtime as Ashford Golden attempted a two pointer that rimmed out giving the Owls a two-point win.
 
DaShaun Stark led the Owls with 20 points in the contest. He led the Owls with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Darrien Dickey followed with 17 points and Brian Enriquez and Jason Walker added 13 points for WWU. WWU shot 58.5 percent from the floor in the contest.
 
WWU returns to action on Saturday, January 6th when they host Lyon College in AMC action. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Anderson Arena.
 
Game Flow
The Owls and Mustangs came out trading baskets to start the game and the Owls found themselves down 7-4 after a three by Ashford Golden. WWU came back and scored the next four points, two by Darrien Dickey and two by Mackenzie Fessler, taking an 8-7 lead with 15:39 left in the first half.
 
After taking the lead, the Owls grew the lead to five, 14-9, after a three by Brian Enriquez. William Woods could not get the lead any larger as the Mustangs cut the lead down to one, 18-17, after a pair of free throws by Victor Dukes.
 
With four minutes left in the first half, TeShawn Sims hit a three-pointer tying the game at 26-26. The Mustangs slowly grew its lead to five, 31-26, after a Golden three. Central Baptist continued to hold onto the lead the rest of the half and took a 37-31 lead into halftime.
 
Central Baptist came out and grew its lead to 12, 47-35, over the first two minutes of the second half. With the Mustangs getting hot, the Owls offense started heating up and the Owls chipped away at the Mustangs lead. After a three-point play by Jason Walker, the Owls found themselves down six, 52-46.
 
William Woods continued to chip away at the lead and a layup by Walker put the Owls down one, 57-56, with 11:17 left in the half. Golden extended the Mustangs lead to three, 59-56, with 10:07 left in the contest. After Golden's basket both teams went scoreless for three minutes.
 
When the teams started heating up, Jon Warren hit a three for the Mustangs growing its lead to six, 62-56. The Owls would get as close as three points before the Mustangs grew its lead back to five points. With 4:43 left, CBC's Andre Nikita hit a jumper putting them ahead by five, 66-61.
 
WWU continued to battle and a layup by Dickey put the Owls down two, 67-65 with 3:52 left. WWU trimmed the lead down to one, 68-67, after a baseline runner by Keyaire Marshall. Victor Dukes followed with a basket in the paint putting the Mustangs ahead by three, 70-67.
 
After getting a defensive stop and a missed free throw by the Mustangs, the Owls got the rebound and went on the attack. With the shot clock winding down, Brian Enriquez hit a three-pointer tying the game at 70-70.
 
With the game tied, Fessler put the Owls ahead after making a free throw. Marshall grew the lead to two, 72-70, with 17 seconds left.
 
With a two-point lead, 72-70, and 17 seconds left, Central Baptist had the ball and a shot to tie the game to force overtime as Ashford Golden attempted a two pointer that rimmed out giving the Owls a two-point win.
 
By the Numbers
20 – DaShaun Stark led the Owls with 20 points
10 – Stark collected 10 rebounds for a double-double
17 – Darrien Dickey added 17 points in the contest
76.2 – WWU shot 76.2 percent in the second half of the game
20 – William Woods hit 20 free throws in the contest
17 – The Owls committed 17 turnovers
32 – WWU scored 32 points in the paint