ST. LOUIS - Crashing the boards, a big second half and
Nate Schwartze's game-high 20 points (8-13 field goals and 4-9 3-pointers) in 24 minutes were the ingredients of No. 14 William Woods University's (19-2, 11-1 American Midwest Conference) 14th straight win, a resounding 85-57 triumph over Harris-Stowe State University (6-15, 3-10) Saturday at Emerson Performance Center.
"Very slow start for us tonight," William Woods men's basketball coach
Jordan Ashton said. "One of those games where we weren't hitting as many shots as we normally do, and we really had to rely on our defense. At this point in the year, we've also got to expect to get everyone's best and be ready for it."
The Owls overcame their offensive struggles by outrebounding the Hornets 58 (25 offensive) to 28 (seven offensive), and their 30 second-chance points were 27 more than HSSU.
Kevin Taylor led WWU's rebounding effort with a game-high nine boards, while
Henry Shannon III had a game-high two blocks, and
D'Mari Wiltz and
Tre Titus recorded a co-team-high two steals.
Outside of Schwartze, William Woods' offensive leaders were Wiltz with a game-high five assists, Shannon with 19 points (7-9 field goals and 5-9 free throws) and
Francis Okwuosah with 13 points (6-11 field goals and one 3-pointer).
Taylor already pulled down a rebound on the game's opening possession, then on the Owls' first drive, the highlight reel connection paid off yet again, with Wiltz flipping it to Shannon for the slam dunk, putting WWU up 2-0. HSSU responded on its ensuing possession as Bennie Amos III landed a jumper to tie it at 2, then a few drives later, the Hornets took a 4-2 lead on Keondre Brown's putback layup. It remained back and forth early in the first quarter. The Owls tied it at 4 on
Tre Titus' layup before regaining the advantage, 6-4, on Shannon's second-chance layup with 15:39 left in the half. Harris-Stowe answered with an 8-1 run, Ty Lampley's triple capping it and making it 12-8 Hornets.Â
William Woods got out of its funk and outscored HSSU 7-2 over the next 3:07.
Jacob LaBounty's second-chance bucket finished the run and put the Owls up 15-14. Amos responded instantly for the Hornets, knocking down a jumper to put it at 16-15 Hornets with 8:45 to go before halftime. That was the host's final lead of the first half. William Woods led for the final 5:51 of the half when Shannon converted two free throws to send the Owls ahead 19-18. Following that, Wiltz and Shannon were at it again, with the former stealing it and dishing it to the latter, who went up and rattled the rim for his second dunk.Â
Finishing the first half strong, William Woods went on a 10-2 run. Okwuosah's lone 3-pointer with :22 on the clock concluded the half's offense and gave the Owls a 31-21 advantage. How did WWU let HSSU stay within in the first half but not in the second? The Owls shot 36.4% (12-33) from the field in the first half, then made 60% (21-35) and outscored the Hornets 54-36 in the second half.
Opening the second half on a very Owl-like 11-3 run, William Woods got its cushion up to 18 points (42-24) with 16:49 left. During that stretch, Taylor had four points, including a dunk, and Shannon put the bow on it with a layup provided by Titus. Just under a minute later, transition offense increased The Woods' lead to 20 points: Taylor swiped a HSSU pass and passed it to Titus, who assisted a Shannon make inside to make it 46-26.
The Owls earned the first of their game-high 28-point leads with 6:43 to go. After Shannon put down the last of his trifecta of dunks, Okwuosah brought down a defensive rebound before Schwartze hit a putback to put it at 73-45. With 25 seconds left, Schwartze also handed Woods its second 28-point advantage (85-57) and concluded the scoring with another second-chance layup.
For the game, the Owls scored 13 points off 10 forced turnovers and shot 48.5% (33-68) from the field, 20% (6-30) from 3-point range and 54.2% (13-24) from the free-throw line. The Hornets posted six points off nine forced turnovers and converted 33.3% (19-57) from the field, 19% (4-21) from deep and 88.2% (15-17) at the stripe.
William Woods begins a tough three-game week against an underrated Crowley's Ridge College (13-8, 7-4 AMC) at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Carter Activities Center in Paragould, Arkansas. The Owls were originally scheduled to face the Pioneers on Jan. 11, but it was rescheduled due to winter weather that day.
"Another tough road game for us on Monday," Ashton said. "We need to be locked in and ready to go."
