The Owls were unable to maintain their halftime lead in a 54-51 American Midwest Conference loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
William Woods (7-13, 4-8 AMC) trailed by 10 in the first half, but regrouped to take a 31-29 lead at the break. The Owls stretched their lead to six points early in the second half, but Benedictine seized a 42-40 edge on Thomas Dillard's basket with 12 minutes, 31 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs (9-11, 6-7 AMC) led by seven points twice in the second half, but William Woods drew to within 53-51 on sophomore guard Ryan Hill's free throws with :39 to go. Benedictine's Clavontae Brown hit 1-of-2 to clinch the game for the Bulldogs.
Senior forward Nate Bitner posted a game-high 12 points as the only Owl in double figures. Junior guards Jarrett Boss and Austin Lowery added nine and eight points respectively, while junior forward TaiRhe Turner led William Woods with seven rebounds.
The Owls finished at 31 percent (18-of-59) from the field.
Dillard and Darius Stallworth each led the Bulldogs with 11 points. Myles Harvell scored 10 and Stephen Shepherd collected nine rebounds.
Benedictine shot 42 percent (20-of-58) from the floor and matched William Woods with 37 rebounds.
The Owls stay on the road for an AMC game at Hannibal-LaGrange at 7 p.m. Thursday. William Woods suffered a narrow 65-63 loss to the Trojans on Dec. 4 in Fulton.