JOILET, Ill. – The William Woods University men's basketball team lost a close game to University of St. Francis (Ill.) Sunday afternoon to close out the St. Francis Thanksgiving Classic, 63-61. The loss drops the Owls to 4-7 on the season.
The team returns home to start conference play with a 3 p.m. tip-off versus Columbia College on Saturday, Dec. 4. The game will be a white-out, so make sure to put on white to help cheer on your Owls!
By The Numbers
52 – 52 of the Owls' 61 points came from the five starters.
51.0 – The Owls shot 51 percent from the field through the 40 minutes (25-for-49).
20 –
Makenzie Fessler led the floor with 20 points.
15 –
Spencer Yoggerst put up 15 points as he shot 6-for-8 from the field.
10 –
Darius Yohe posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
6 –
Darius Yohe blocked six shots.
4 –
Jared Crutcher blocked four shots.
Game Highlights
The Owls possessed the lead throughout the majority of the first half. A three from
Andrew Nett put the Owls up by two 3:28 into the game. USF evened the score at 9-9 with 13:24 on the clock, but
Darius Yohe put the Owls back up by two with his down-low bucket from
Jared Crutcher, 11-9.
A three from
Spencer Yoggerst followed by a layup from Crutcher gave the Owls a six-point advantage with 8:35 remaining in the half, 18-12. USF brought the game within one, but a 6-0 run with buckets from Yohe,
Makenzie Fessler and Crutcher gave the Owls a seven-point lead with 1:54 on the clock, 28-21.
Two good free throws from Fessler put the Owls up by three after USF again brought the game within one, but USF scored the final point of the half to send the Owls into halftime with a two-point lead, 30-28.
USF scored the first four points of the half to take a two-point lead. A jumper from
Mike Robinson evened the score, but USF quickly took back the lead.
The Owls evened the score with two good free throws from Yoggerst with 14:07 on the clock, but USF again went back in the lead.
A three from Fessler gave the Owls a two-point lead with 11:49 on the clock. USF evened the score twice and took hold of the lead again with 9:32 to play, 49-47.
USF held the lead through the rest of the game, and despite the Owls keeping the game a one-possession game for most of the time, they were unable to score in the final minute to fall by two, 63-61.
