Box Score CONWAY, Ark. - (RV) William Woods University (5-2, 0-1 American Midwest Conference) led by as much as nine points and had a second-half lead, but No. 11 Central Baptist College (6-1, 1-0) went 5-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute as the Owls fell 80-76 to the Mustangs Thursday at A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse.

"We're right there," William Woods men's basketball coach Jordan Ashton said. "There's just too many times right now where we hurt ourselves, and it needs to change quickly. We'll get it figured out and be better. Another opportunity Saturday."

Despite losing, four of WWU's starting five scored in double figures. D'Mari Wiltz, a senior transfer from Missouri Baptist University, led the Owls' offense for the first time this season with a season-high 17 points (6-for-10 field goals and 5-for-8 free throws), and he collected a game-high nine rebounds (three offensive), dished out a team-high four assists and added one steal. 

Rounding out the four double-digit-points-scoring Owls, Henry Shannon III posted 16 points, five boards (two offensive), two assists and a team-high two blocks, Kevin Taylor 13 points (6-9 field goals and 1-2 3-pointers), eight rebounds (two offensive) three steals (game-high) and one block and Nate Schwartze 12 points (2-2 free throws), seven boards (two offensive) and two assists.

The Woods made it look like a football game early on, taking a seven-point lead two times in the first 10 minutes of the first half. Taylor and Shannon were key in the Owls getting the first at 14-7, tallying five points (one 3) and four points, three rebounds and a block, respectively. Francis Okwuosah hit a layup and a jumper and assisted a Shannon triple to hand WWU its second seven-point advantage at 21-14 with 11:27 left in the first half. 

Just 2:08 later, Aaiden Ashton gave the Owls their largest lead at 23-14 when he got a layup to fall. Unfortunately for WWU, CBC ended the first half on a 17-10 run to cut the Owls' lead to two points (33-31) at halftime. In the stretch the Mustangs controlled, they were 6-for-13 from the field and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, and for the first half, they finished 12-for-30 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line; WWU went 14-of-27 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line in the first half.

Following the break, the Owls started the second half on a 6-3 run to increase their lead to 39-34. Three players scored in that time for WWU: Okwuosah converting two free throws, Schwartze a putback layup, and Wiltz an inside bucket off a Taylor steal. That five-point advantage was the Owls' most considerable of the second half. Central Baptist followed that with a 16-4 run in which it took the lead for good at 42-41 with 15:18 left on Savaugh Smith's dunk after a Sage Borbon defensive board.

While the Mustangs did lead the rest of the way, they didn't go in front by more than 10 points twice, and Borbon gave them both of those advantages, the second on his jumper that put it at 61-51 CBC with 8:15 to go. To answer, WWU's Taylor went up for a slam dunk, and Wiltz and Okwuosah scored baskets in the paint to make it a four-point contest (61-57) with 7:01 remaining. The Mustangs called timeout and increased their lead to six points on their ensuing possession, and then the Owls reduced their deficit to two points (63-61) with 4:52 left after Tre Titus hit a 3 off a Wiltz assist and Shannon went 1-for-2 from the free throw line. Woods edged closer a 1:19 later on Wiltz's jumper, putting it at 65-64 CBC. From there, the Owls brought it to a two-point game two times in the final eight seconds. However, the Mustangs' Gabe Johnson knocked down two free throws with less than a second left to seal a narrow victory for the hosts.

William Woods brought down 39 boards (12 offensive), forced nine turnovers and converted 30-of-58 (51.7 percent) field goals, 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) 3-pointers and 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) free throws. Central Baptist tallied 28 rebounds (nine offensive), forced 14 turnovers and went 27-of-60 (45 percent) from the field, 9-of-25 (36 percent) from deep and 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the charity stripe.

Two of the Mustangs' players scored more than any Owl did, with second-team All-AMC Sage Borbon scoring a game-high 23 points and Hykeem Hancock 18 points (6-for-9 field goals, 2-for-4 3-pointers and 4-for-5 free throws) in 15 minutes off the bench.

Concluding its Arkansas road trip, William Woods plays Williams Baptist University (3-3, 0-1 AMC) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Southerland-Mabee Center in Walnut Ridge. The Owls have won four straight against the Eagles, taking last season's meeting at WBU 89-79.