FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University men's basketball team held on to their strong first half lead to ultimately defeat Lindenwood University-Belleville, 78-64. The win is the Owl's fifth straight conference win, moving them to 6-2 in American Midwest Conference play and 9-5 overall.
 
David Johnson Jr. recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he led the floor with 21 points and 10 boards. Treshawn Gause came up just short of a double-double as he put in 14 points and served nine assists. 
 
The Owls next face Hannibal-LaGrange University on the road Thursday in the AMC Game of the Week. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Game Flow
The Owls forced LUB to burn a timeout just a minute into the game after quickly pushing a 7-0 lead. The timeout did not phase the Owls as they continued their dominant performance, taking an 18-point lead just five minutes in, 21-3. 
 
LUB cut the game to 13 twice, but back-to-back buckets from Johnson Jr. began an Owl's 10-0 run to go up by 23 with seven minutes to play. 
 
Johnson Jr. scored the final bucket of the half for the Owls with 2:28 on the clock. LUB found the inside of the net twice more during the remaining time, sending the game into halftime with the Owls holding a 19-point lead, 46-27.
 
A 12-2 run began the second half for the Owls, ending with a Shad Kimble fast break three to give the team a 29-point lead, 58-29.
 
LUB slowly chipped away at the board and halfway through the second half, LUB trailed by just 14, 62-48.
 
Over time, the Owls pushed back a 19-point lead, but a long, silent stretch by the Owls doubled with a 10-0 LUB run brought the game to single digits with 2:17 on the clock. 
 
Gause broke the silence with a good bucket in the paint and the and-1. 
 
The Owls bunkered down and with the fouling to stop the clock, Makenzie Fessler and Brian Enriquez went 4-for-4 to push back a 14-point lead to end the game, 78-64.
 
By The Numbers
.500 – The Owls shot .500 from the three-point line and .438 from the field.
21 – David Johnson Jr. recorded 21 points as he went 4-for-6 from the three-point line. 
14 – Treshawn Gause was the next highest scorer for the Owls with 14.
9 – Treshawn Gause dished a season-high nine assists.
3 – Johnson Jr. blocked three of LUB's shots. He also grabbed a floor-high four steals.