PARKVILLE, Mo. ­– The William Woods University men's basketball team dropped to Park University Tuesday evening, 76-70. The Owls fall to 7-9 on the season with a 3-6 conference mark.
 
The Owls return home after a seven-game road stretch to host Freed-Hardeman University on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
By The Numbers
50.0 – The Owls shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (14-for-28), finishing the game with a 45.5 FG percentage.
31 – Makenzie Fessler scored a career-high 31 points, going 10-for-14 from the field while adding 11 free throws.
10 – Codi Whitlock added 10 points to the game.
8 – Darius Yohe pulled down a team-high eight boards and recorded eight points.
3 – Yohe blocked three Park shots, and Ian Hodges recorded three steals.
 
Game Flow
The lead changed nine times and the game was tied up four throughout the first nine minutes of the game. 
 
A bucket from Makenzie Fessler put the Owls up by two with 9:22 on the clock, and the Owls kept hold of the lead for the remainder of the half. 
 
Park brought the game within one with two free throws, but Ian Hodges drained a three on the next play to put the Owls up by four. 
 
Codi Whitlock followed with back-to-back jumpers to give the Owls their largest lead of the game with 5:02 to play in the first, 29-21.
 
Park cut the game to three, but Andrew Nett hit a three and Fessler followed with an in-the-paint bucket to push the Owls back up by eight with 1:19 to play, 34-26. 
 
Fessler scored the last points of the half with two good free throws to send the game into the second half with the Owls leading 36-28.
 
Park began the second half with an 11-3 run to tie up the game for the fifth time just over three minutes in. 
 
Fessler went 2-for-2 from the foul line to put the Owls back up, but Park took the lead just over five minutes in with a three.
 
The Owls held Park within one but an 8-0 Park run in just over a minute and a half put the Owls down by nine with 11:26 to play, 55-46.
 
A jumper from Fessler followed by a good free throw from D'Aaron Owens brought the game within four with 7:34 on the clock, but Park pushed back out by nine.
 
Park grabbed their first double digit lead with 4:40 to play, and they extended it to 12 points following a three with 3:16 on the clock.
 
Darius Yohe hit a short jumper to spark an 8-0 Owls' run to bring them within four with 1:07 remaining, but Park snapped the run with a two with 40 seconds on the clock. 
 
Fouling to stop the clock, the Owls sent Park to the line. Park went 2-for-2, putting them up by eight. With 13 seconds on the clock, Fessler hit a two to cut the game to six. 
 
Fouling again to stop the clock, Park again went 2-for-2 from the line to take back an eight-point lead.
 
With the final attempt, Fessler scored his 31^st point with an in-the-paint bucket with :02 left in the game to cut it to 76-70.