MCPHERSON, Kan. - After a back-and-forth first half that saw both teams lead by two possessions, William Woods (7-4) earned its third win over a KCAC foe on Wednesday night, handing McPherson (9-3) a 78-69 loss.
DJ Purnell racked up his second double-double (18 pts, 12 reb) of the season as Woods extended its winning streak to five straight.
Henry Shannon III (13 pts),
Lavel Harris (12 pts) and
Gacoby Jones Jr. (11 pts) also finished the night in double figures for the Owls.
The teams traded deep baskets to open the contest, with Quinn Collins hitting first for the Bulldogs and Jones Jr. answering for WWU. McPherson was able to stretch out to a 9-5 margin, but the Owls responded with an 11-5 run to take an 18-14 lead inside the first eight minutes.
After the run, WWU hit a rough patch, turning the ball over six times in a four-minute stretch, giving the Bulldogs the chance to pull away. Solid defense from the Owls limited the damage, as McPherson was only able to pick up seven points on the free possessions.
A third-chance layup by
Tre Titus with 2:08 left marked the last points of the half for either team, with WWU trailing 36-35 heading into the locker room.
McPherson clung to its lead after the intermission, managing to eke out the gap as far as six points over the first five minutes. The Owls brought the score within one on four occasions over the next few moments - the first a Jones Jr. triple at 13:50 (47-46) and the last a jumper by Titus at 9:57 (54-53) - but the Bulldogs held on and stretched the margin to five points.
A missed free throw by Antonio Watson with 7:21 would have put McPherson up 62-56, but Purnell grabbed the rebound and knocked down a layup on the other end to pull Woods within three. On the next Bulldogs possession, Purnell had a monster block and rebound, with Shannon III converting the fast break layup to close to a 61-60 deficit.
Harris put the Owls in front for good at the 6:19 mark with a swipe and dash, then found a wide-open
Nate Schwartze on WWU's next possession for a triple to punctuate a 14-2 run.
McPherson managed to close to a 70-66 margin with two minutes left, but Woods easily shrugged off the Bulldogs comeback attempt.
Woods finished with a 42-30 edge in rebounding and outshot McPherson 45.6 percent (31-68) to 41.3 percent (26-63) on the night.
The Owls will take a brief respite from the regular season schedule, with a pair of exhibitions serving as the final tuneup before conference play. Woods will head south on US 54 for a Monday matchup against Division II Lincoln University, with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m.
