FULTON, Mo. - Halloween saw no tricks, just treats for William Woods (2-0) as the Owls finished with five scorers in double figures in an 86-76 win over (RV) Evangel University (0-1) on Tuesday night.
Gacoby Jones Jr. led WWU's offense with 19 points as Woods shot 54.7% (29-53) from the floor.
After showing off a potent offense in its home opener, WWU put its defense on display early on Tuesday, forcing four Valor turnovers in the opening five minutes and breaking out to a 16-5 lead. The Owls kept Evangel at arm's length through most of the first half, keeping a two-possession or better lead for nearly fifteen minutes.
Evangel was able to pull within a single basket at the 3:06 mark, as Jace Coffie drew contact in the lane and knocked down both free throws to close the gap to 32-29.
On the next possession, however,
DJ Purnell was fouled away from the basket and knocked down both ends of the bonus to stretch the margin back to five. Tenacious defense by the Woods drew a traveling violation by Coffie, with Purnell finding
Lavel Harris for a second-chance triple on the other end of the floor to put Woods up 37-29.
After taking a 42-31 lead into the locker room at halftime, Woods stretched out to a 16-point cushion to open the second half, with Jones Jr. capping the run with a fast-break three on a give-and-go with Harris.
Evangel took advantage of a short cold spell for WWU, with Coffie sandwiching two traditional three-point plays around a layup to jumpstart a 16-2 run for the Valor.
A 30-second timeout called by WWU's
Jordan Ashton helped to calm his squad, and
Joey Brown IV was able to halt the Valor run with a basket-and-one with 11:52 to play.
And although Evangel would pull within one on its next possession,
Henry Shannon III wrapped up his own birthday present as he provided the final turn in the contest with just over 10 minutes on the clock.
Coffie drew fouls on back-to-back possessions, converting the bonus on each to draw Evangel within two at 58-56. An offensive foul called on Nate Schwartze gave the visitors the ball with an opportunity to tie or take the lead, and after a missed three by Manrique Alvarado, Josh Mason corralled an offensive rebound. But instead of giving the Valor a second chance, Mason was stripped by Shannon III, who raced end-to-end and dropped a dunk to push the Owls margin back to 60-56.
After the teams traded triples, Shannon III sent a thundering block into the stands on a jumper by Mason, and the Owls forced a shot clock violation by Evangel. Shannon III laid a dime pass for Purnell on WWU's next trip down the court, and Evangel's fight evaporated.
WWU trailed for just 17 seconds in the contest, and outscored Evangel in four of five specialty categories (23-15 TO, 36-28 paint, 14-5 2nd-ch, 14-5 fast break) on the night.
Next up for the Owls is a trip to no. 4 Langston University, set for 10 a.m. tipoff on Saturday.
