The William Woods University men's basketball team used its strong first-half lead and two key runs to top the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Thursday evening in St. Louis. The 68-57 victory brings the Owls to 10-10 on the season while improving them to 4-6 in conference play.
How it happened
The two teams had a back-and-forth, tight first eight minutes of the game with six lead changes.
With 11:50 on the clock, Grant Peters put in a layup to begin an Owls' 9-1 run over two minutes to take a seven-point lead, 17-10. However, UHSP cut the lead down twice - once to three points and once to four.
In the last four minutes of the first half, the Owls pushed an 11-2 run to take a 13-point lead heading into halftime, 38-25.
UHSP cut the game to single digits within the first three minutes of play, and halfway through the second half, the Owls held a two-point lead, 48-46. With 7:45 on the clock, UHSP trailed by just one.
Darius Yohe hit a jumper and then grabbed a block on the next play, leading to a layup from Nathan Schwartze to give the Owls a five-point lead, 55-50.
A dunk from Abdulh Diaby and a 3 from Schwartze aided the Owls' 13-4 run to put their lead back to double digits with just over two minutes to play, 64-54. However, the Owls held on to their double-digit lead, ending with an 11-point win, 68-57.
By the numbers
16 - Yohe pulled down a floor-high 16 boards en route to his double-double, and Schwartze put up a team-high 16 points.
14 - Yohe shot 50% from the field for 14 points.
11 - Fred Robinson and Spencer Yoggerst each added 11 points to the win.
5 - Schwartze dished in five assists, and Yohe blocked five UHSP shots.
Up next
The Owls look for a sweep over Hannibal-LaGrange at 3 p.m. Saturday on the road. The Owls defeated HLG 63-48 earlier this season.