LANGSTON, Okla. - Gacoby Jones Jr., scored 13 points and
Henry Shannon III added 12, but early turnovers and a slow start on offense hampered William Woods University Saturday at No. 4 Langston, a 79-72 loss that dropped the Owls to 2-1.
Langston (1-0) had four in double figures, led by 20 from Ronald Mitchell and 19 off the bench from Anthony Roy. The Owls turned the ball over 24 times, including seven turnovers in the first seven minutes, enabling Langston to build an 11-point lead nine minutes in to the game on a three by G'Quavious Lennox.
The Lions led by as many as 18 in to the half's final possession, when Roy beat the horn to make it 43-23 at intermission. Langston was able to push its lead to 23, but a 10-point run by the Owls and a basket by Nate Schwartze with 15:40 left in the game had William Woods back within 13, 49-36.
William Woods chipped away, but the Owls weren't able to trim the lead to single digits until 5:03, when
Kyle Belgrave II made two free throws, and with 3:52 remaining, Jones drained a three to make it 69-61.
Lennox and D'Monte Brown added 11 points each, for Langston, and the Lions ended the game with 10 makes from outside the 3-point arc. Langston also took advantage of 42 trips to the foul line, 27 makes, while Woods was 24-of-39 from the line, also adding 10 threes but shooting 47 percent from the floor on 19-of-40 shooting. The Owls out-rebounded the Lions 36-31.
William Woods continues its rugged non-conference schedule and steps back in to its NAIA ARC Monday night, traveling to Central Methodist University at 7 p.m.
