ST. LOUIS - The William Woods University Owls made the most of their chances from the foul line in moving forward.
No. 5 seed William Woods connected on 75 percent (27-of-36) of its free throws to down No. 4 Missouri Baptist University 85-71 in the quarterfinals of the American Midwest Conference postseason tournament Wednesday night.
The Owls took control with a 12-0 run midway through the second half and then clinched the victory by knocking down 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1 minute, 12 seconds.
William Woods (19-12) now advances to a semifinal showdown at top-seeded Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lions (25-6) - tied for No. 11 in NAIA Division I with MidAmerica (Kan.) Nazarene - powered their way to a 91-71 quarterfinal triumph over No. 8 seed Lindenwood (Ill.)-Belleville on Wednesday night.
The Owls split with Freed-Hardeman during the regular season. William Woods prevailed in a 105-98 shootout Jan. 9 in Fulton, then lost to the Lions 94-84 on Feb. 20 in Henderson, Tennessee.
The Owls and Missouri Baptist were tied at 56-all Wednesday night when junior forward Keith Jackson put William Woods in front to stay on a basket in the lane with 10 minutes, 42 seconds left in the game. Jackson closed out the Owls' pivotal run when he buried a 3-pointer to make it 68-56 with 8:16 to play.
Junior forward Bryan DeGeare - who was 10-of-11 from the foul line - logged a game-high 19 points to guide four players in double figures for William Woods. Senior guard Kevin House followed with 18 points and Jackson and junior guard Deon Pettigrew both provided 13 as the Owls shot 40 percent (25-of-62) from the field.
DeGeare shared game-high honors with 11 rebounds as William Woods was edged on the boards 47-43.
Will Harrington countered with 17 points to lead three players in double figures for Missouri Baptist, which ended its season with a 19-12 record. Pablo Hernandez also chipped in with 14 points and Jared White tallied 13 as the Spartans shot just 38 percent (24-of-63) as a team.