BATESVILLE, Ark. – The William Woods University men's basketball team's late game comeback attempt fell short at Lyon College Thursday evening in the American Midwest Conference Championship quarterfinals, 63-51.
The Owls powered a 21-5 run to cut their 22-point deficit to just six with just under two minutes to play.
One-seeded Lyon now advances to the semifinal round against four-seeded Columbia. The Owls' shortened season comes to a close with a 7-8 overall record.
By The Numbers
46.4 – The Owls shot 46.4% from the field in the second half.
13 –
Makenzie Fessler scored a team-high 13 points, and
Darius Yohe pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds.
11 –
Mike Robinson hit three three-pointers to tally 11 points.
6 –
Darius Yohe blocked six shots on the night, tying him for third in the WWU record book for game day blocks.
4 –
Mike Robinson grabbed four steals and dished in four assists.
Game Flow
The Owls had a rough first half with shots not falling and plays not going their way. The Owls trailed 31-16 after the first 20 minutes of play while shooting just 20.7% from the field and 25% from the three.
Lyon pushed their lead to 24 through the first six minutes of the second half, and with just under 10 minutes to play, they held a 22-point lead, 51-29.
An 8-0 Owls' run in just a minute span starting with a hook shot from
Darius Yohe followed by threes from
Andrew Nett and
Mike Robinson cut the game to 14, 51-37. Lyon pushed the game back out to 19 with 4:59 to play, 56-37.
A short jumper in the paint from
Makenzie Fessler then powered a 13-0 run over a three-minute span to cut the game to six, 56-50. Fessler and
Ian Hodges each scored four in the run. Yohe added two, and Robinson hit a fast break three.
With under a minute to play, the Owls had to foul to stop the clock. Lyon went 4-6 from the free throw line to take back a double-digit lead with just under 30 seconds to play, 60-50.
The Owls added one on a free throw, but Lyon closed out the game going 3-4 while in bonus to end the game with a 12-point win, 63-51.
