HANNIBAL, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team closed out the 2017-18 regular season with a 64-55 overtime victory over Hannibal-LaGrange University on Saturday afternoon in American Midwest Conference action.
 
Darrien Dickey led the Owls with 19 points, while DaShaun Stark followed with 15 points. Jason Walker rounded out the double-figure with 13 points. WWU shot 35.4 percent for the game. The Owls outscored the Trojans 12-3 in overtime.
 
The Owls return to action on Wednesday, February 28th when they open AMC Conference Tournament action. WWU earned the sixth seed and travels to St. Louis, Missouri to face third seed Harris-Stowe State University. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
Game Flow
Both offenses got off to a slow start, as the Owls and Trojans combined to score eight points over the first five minutes of the contest. During that stretch, DaShaun Stark scored all four points for the Owls. WWU took a 7-4 lead 30 seconds later after Keyaire Marshall hit a three pointer.
 
William Woods stretched the lead to five, 9-4, after a Jason Walker layup. Hannibal-LaGrange slowly started mounting a comeback as a jumper by Tyrone Hueitt Jr. put the Trojans down one, 11-10, with 9:41 left in the first half.
 
Hannibal-LaGrange took a one-point lead, 16-15, after a three by Adam Ingle. After his three, WWU and HLGU traded buckets and the game was tied at 20-20 after a Darrien Dickey layup, with 3:35 left in the half. The Trojans ended the half on a 10-2 run and the Owls found themselves down eight, 30-22, at halftime.
 
After a three by Demetrius Early opened the half, the Trojans led by 11. WWU answered back and scored the next five points trimming the lead down to six, 33-27 with 16:41 to go in the game. Three minutes later, the Owls had the Trojans lead down to four, 35-31, after a Darrien Dickey layup.
 
Hannibal-LaGrange slowly grew its lead back to nine, 43-34, after an Adam Ingle three pointer with 10:02 left. Trailing by nine, the Owls went on a 10-2 run trimming the Trojans lead down to one, 45-44, after a layup by Jason Walker.
 
Trailing by three with just over four minutes left, Brandon Vice hit a three-pointer tying the game at 49-49. Tyrone Hueitt Jr. hit a layup putting the Trojans ahead by two, 51-49, with 3:11 to go in the contest. Neither team scored until Dickey hit a free throw putting the Owls down one, 51-50, with 53 seconds left.
 
With 16 seconds left, Dickey hit a free throw tying the game at 51-51 with 16 second left. The Trojans Brady Smith got fouled with seven seconds left and hit one putting the Trojans ahead 52-51. With two seconds left, the Trojans got called for a technical foul and Stark hit the free throw tying the game. WWU had one more shot to win the game but the shot was missed, and the game went to overtime.
 
In overtime, the Owls locked down on the defensive end and the Owls outscored the Trojans 12-3. WWU came away with a 64-55 overtime victory to close out the regular season.
 
By the Numbers
19 – Senior Darrien Dickey led the Owls with 19 points
3 – William Woods had three players score in double-figures
16 – WWU committed 16 turnovers in the contest
35.4 – The Owls shot 35.4 percent from the field in the contest
9 – William Woods outscored the Trojans by nine in overtime
12 – WWU outrebounded the Trojans 49-37
35 – The Owls scored 35 points in the paint
3-for-17 – WWU shot 3-for-17 from the arc in the contest