Junior forward Makenzie Fessler scored with 1 minute, 5 seconds left to break a 61-all tie as the Owls picked up their second straight AMC victory Tuesday night at Anderson Arena.
William Woods University - avenging a 76-70 loss at Park University on Jan. 7 - rose above the .500 mark at 14-13 overall and evened its AMC record at 10-10. The Pirates - who were held scoreless over the final 4 minutes, 40 seconds Tuesday night - slipped to 18-6 on the season and 13-6 in the AMC.
The Owls were down by as many as 17 points in the first half before embarking on a 20-4 run to close the gap. Senior guard Treshawn Gause's basket with 1 second remaining brought William Woods within 34-33 at halftime.
The Owls then built an eight-point edge with less than 8 minutes to play in the game, before Park whittled away at the deficit and went in front 61-60 on Cory Reeves' basket with 4:40 left. That would turn out to be the Pirates' final points.
Fessler connected on 1-of-2 free throws on William Woods' ensuing possession to tie the game. Fessler's basket in the paint with a little more than a minute left put the Owls on top for good 63-61.
Fessler logged 20 points to direct three players in double figures for William Woods, which shot 46 percent (26-of-56) as a team. Freshman center Darius Yohe supplied 16 points and junior guard Ian Hodges contributed 10.
Yohe completed a double-double by collecting a game-high 13 rebounds as the Owls were edged 37-36 on the boards.
Reeves delivered a game-high 30 points as the only player to reach double figures for Park, which shot 43 percent (26-of-60) from the field.
William Woods goes to Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University for an AMC contest at 7:30 tonight. The Owls fell to Freed-Hardeman 78-64 on Jan. 9 in Fulton.