ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball second half comeback fell short as they were defeated by the third seed Harris-Stowe State University, 81-78, in AMC Tournament Quarterfinals action on Wednesday night.
 
William Woods had four players in double-figures led by DaShaun Stark with 24 points. Brandon Vice followed with 20 points. Brian Enriquez and Darrien Dickey added 16 and 12 points respectfully. WWU shot 28.6 percent in the first half before shooting 52.9 percent in the second half.
 
With the loss, WWU finishes the season with a 14-17 mark overall.
 
Game Flow
The Hornets came out scoring in the first four minutes of the contest, as Harris-Stowe raced out to a 10-1 lead over the Owls. K'Ja Johnson scored the tenth point for the Hornets after he picked the pocket of DaShaun Stark and went down for a layup.
 
WWU continued to battle and Brandon Vice hit the Owls first shot with 13:57 left in the first half. He grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the layup. William Woods continued to chip away at the Hornets lead and WWU found itself down six, 14-8, after a pair of free throws by Vice.
 
Harris-Stowe extended the lead back to nine before the Owls scored seven straight points trimming the lead down to one, 17-16, after a three by Vice. The Owls and Hornets would trade baskets for the next few minutes as the Owls got the Hornets lead down to one multiple times. After Codi Whitlock hit a pair of free throws, the Owls found itself down 26-25, with 5:18 left in the first half.
 
The Hornets followed with a 12-1 run growing its lead to 11, 37-26, over the Owls. WWU continued to battle and had the lead down to five, 39-34, heading into halftime.
 
The Owls came out of halftime scoring the first six points of the half and took a 40-39 lead after a basket by Stark. After the Owls took the lead, WWU and HSSU traded hoops and a pair of free throws tied the game at 46-46 with 15:07 left in the game.
 
The game would continue to go back and forth over the next five minutes of the contest as DeAndre Clark tied the game at 55-55 with 10:51 left. Over the next five minutes of the contest, the Owls and Hornets did not hold a lead over two points and Stark put the Owls ahead, 62-61, with 5:39 left.
 
Like the previous ten minutes neither team could take control of the game. With 3:36 left in the game Brian Enriquez hit a shot in the lane tying the game at 66-66. This would be the last time the Owls tied the contest. Harris-Stowe's Christian Wimbley hit a three putting HSSU ahead by three.
 
WWU would get the lead down to one but could never get the lead in the final two minutes of the game. After a pair of free throws by Stark put the Owls down one, 71-70, Dwane Miner hit a three for the Hornets. Down six, 78-72, Enriquez hit a three putting the Owls down three. The Hornets grew the lead back to six and Vice hit a three with two seconds left putting the Owls down three. However, the Owls second half comeback came up short as they were defeated by the third seed Hornets, 81-78.
 
By the Numbers
24 – DaShaun Stark led the Owls with 24 poitns
4 – WWU had four players in double-figurers
13 – Brandon Vice led the Owls with 13 rebounds
6 – William Woods hit six three-pointers in the game
13 – WWU had 13 assists on the night
41.9 – William Woods shot 41.9 percent from the floor in the game
52.9 – The Owls shot 52.9 percent in the second half
49 – WWU scored 49 points in the paint