FULTON, Mo. - With excellent performances throughout the lineup,
Aaiden Ashton's career-high 15 points (5-7 field goals and 4-5 3-pointers) in 27 minutes off the bench was the most exceptional of all as (RV) William Woods University (13-2) opened 2025 with a 96-52 victory over Haskell Indian Nations University (4-15) Thursday at Anderson Arena. The matchup was initially scheduled for Monday but was rescheduled due to winter weather that day.
"We were very up and down tonight," William Woods men's basketball coach
Jordan Ashton said. "We were good for stretches of the game, then got away from doing what we needed to do for other parts of it. We're going to continue working on putting a full 40 minutes together. We'll never be upset about a win; we just need to keep grinding and putting in the work every day. We still have a lot of room for growth and improvement as a team."
In WWU's final nonconference game this season, five Owls scored in double figures, as
Francis Okwuosah guided the team with a game-high 19 points (6-11 field goals, 4-4 free throws and 3-4 3-pointers), and he added six boards, five assists, two blocks and one steal in 20 minutes. Another standout for The Woods, guard
Tre Titus, who played 23 minutes, posted a season-high 15 points (5-8 field goals and 3-3 free throws) and tied his career-high in rebounds with seven (game-high six defensive).
It sure didn't seem like it had been 12 days since William Woods' last game, with the Owls taking three 14-point leads in the first 10 minutes. To get the first one, WWU notched 14 points with no reply to begin the game, including seven from
Henry Shannon III. After the Fighting Indians made their first basket, the Owls went back up by 14 for the second time on Okwuosah's putback layup. Haskell answered with a 5-2 run, then a
Kevin Taylor triple from a
D'Mari Wiltz assist put Woods ahead by 14 for the third time at 21-7 with 11:22 left in the first half.
The Owls didn't let up, increasing their lead to 24 points at halftime. To get there, William Woods went on a 10-4 run to end the first half. In that stretch, four Owls scored, with Titus' 3-pointer beginning the run and
Ty'Shon Pannell's jumper off a Titus defensive board, ending it with seven seconds on the clock. Pannell's bucket capped the first-half offense and gave the hosts a 47-23 lead.
Picking up where they left off, the Owls furthered their lead to as much as 32 points twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half. To earn its first 32-point cushion, WWU recorded seven unanswered points, five from Titus on a 3-pointer and a layup and two from Wiltz on an inside basket. Haskell had a 5-2 run before the Owls regained their 32-point advantage (72-40) on Pannell's make from deep off a
Nate Schwartze assist with 10:17 left.
While it couldn't quite get to a half-century lead, William Woods settled for a more than significant game-high 47-point lead two times in the final 10 minutes. An 18-0 run that lasted 4:04 handed the Owls their first 47-point advantage (93-46). During that period, WWU's Ashton and Titus each had five points, and the former joined Pannell and
Jack Wetzel in landing shots from beyond the arc. After the Fighting Indians ended their scoring drought,
Adam Barbieri hit a layup to bring the Owls back to a 47-point lead (95-48). Following that, Haskell outscored WWU 4-1 to end the game.
William Woods' supporting cast on the night was Shannon with 14 points, a co-game-high seven rebounds (game-high seven offensive), Pannell with 13 points, two boards, two assists and one steal and Wiltz with a game-high six assists and a team-high four steals.
The Owls collected 46 rebounds (19 offensive) with 23 second-chance points, registered 34 points off 21 forced turnovers and shot 48.6% (35-72) from the field, 42.4% (14-33) from 3-point range and 85.7% (12-14) from the free-throw line. The Fighting Indians brought down 35 boards (16 offensive) with nine second-chance points, scored 12 points off 12 forced turnovers and made 33.9% (21-62) from the field, 20.8% (5-24) from deep and 55.6% (5-9) at the charity stripe.
William Woods (5-1 American Midwest Conference) opens its two-game road trip against first-year AMC member Crowley's Ridge College (9-6, 3-2 AMC) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Carter Activities Center in Paragould, Arkansas.
