FULTON, Mo. - William Woods (1-0) opened the
Jordan Ashton era in high-flying style on Saturday, finishing just shy of the century mark with a 97-63 win over Bethel College (0-1). The Owls had two players finish in double figures, with
DJ Purnell knocking down 21 points to lead all scorers.
Neither team was able to convert on its opening possession, as
Gacoby Jones Jr. saw his layup rejected by Jalyn Todd before returning the favor on the opposite end of the court to Jared Richardson. After a miss on their second possession, WWU was able to force a turnover and convert a triple by Nate Schwartze, sparking a 17-6 run.
Todd hit a layup for the Threshers to stop the WWU run, with Eli Wiseman draining back-to-back threes after misses by the Woods to narrow the gap to 17-14. That would be the closest that the defending KCAC Champions would be on the afternoon, however.
After a 30-second timeout by head coach
Jordan Ashton, Purnell drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to push the Woods lead back to two possessions. A steal and fast-break layup by
Lavel Harris was answered by Marcus Labonde, but
Francis Okwuosah found Purnell for a dunk and Harris followed a Bethel miss with a triple to stretch WWU's lead back to double-digits.
Tre Titus sent Woods to the halftime break up 48-32 with a dunk at the buzzer and after two Thresher baskets to open the second half, WWU blasted out to a 21-point lead, with Purnell capping the 21-12 run with a three-point play.
WWU slowly pulled away, giving Ashton the opportunity to clear his bench in the final moments of the contest, as the Owls coasted to the win.
The Owls dominated the turnover battle, scoring 26 points off 17 Bethel turnovers while allowing just four points off 10 turnovers. Woods added 37 points off the bench to just 13 for Bethel, and shot nearly 50 percent from the field.
Woods welcomes its second KCAC foe of the season to Anderson Arena on Tuesday night, as (RV) Evangel makes the short trip up from Springfield. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
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