MARSHALL - The William Woods University Owls redeemed themselves behind a sizzling shooting performance.
Senior forward Nate Bitner and sophomore guard Ryan Hill tallied 25 points apiece and William Woods shot 69 percent as a team Tuesday night as the Owls outlasted Missouri Valley College in a 97-92 triumph.
William Woods (2-4) - which was 33-of-48 from the field - was also able to avenge a 72-61 loss to Missouri Valley in its Nov. 1 season opener in Fulton. The Owls carried an 11-point lead into halftime Tuesday night and were up by as many as 13 points in the second half, before the Vikings closed within 89-86 on Brad Hamilton's 3-pointer with 57 seconds to play.
William Woods, though, secured the victory by hitting 6-of-8 free throws over the final :44. The Owls shot a remarkable 80 percent (16-of-20) from the field in the second half
"I am very proud of our guys ...," William Woods head coach Nick Totta said. "We have had some injuries and setbacks that could have very easily derailed us, but the guys hung in tight, fought through the adversity and put themselves in a position to win.
"They had many chances where they could have let things get sideways, but again they were determined to fight through and get the victory."
Bitner's career-high outing came on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range as the Owls shot 63 percent (12-of-19) from behind the arc. Hill - who came off the bench to achieve his career-high effort - made 8-of-9 shots, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and connected on all four of his free-throw attempts.
Junior guard Austin Lowery also supplied 18 points and junior forward DJ Johnson contributed 10 to complete the double-figure scoring for William Woods, which overcame 24 turnovers.
Johnson also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds as the Owls were outrebounded 37-29.
Hamilton answered with 23 points to guide four players in double figures for Missouri Valley (4-2), which shot 42 percent (30-of-72) as a team and had 15 turnovers. D.J. Booker also registered 18 points, James Lane chipped in with 15 and Jordan Bowling finished with 10.
William Woods starts American Midwest Conference play against Benedictine University-Springfield (Illinois) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Anderson Arena.