The William Woods University Owls shot a meager 29% (14-of-48) and committed 23 turnovers in being manhandled by the fifth-ranked Arizona Christian University Firestorm 91-51 in Saturday's season opener at Anderson Arena.
William Woods University fell behind 14-5 in the early going, but responded with a 10-2 run to make it a one-point game. Sophomore center Darius Yohe's basket in the paint brought the Owls within 16-15 with 10 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
William Woods kept it close until Arizona Christian (10-1) ended the half on a 16-4 run over the final 4:23 to take control. Xander Bowers scored in the paint with :44 left to send the Firestorm into halftime with a 36-22 advantage.
Arizona Christian turned the contest into a runaway in the second half, outscoring the Owls 22-4 over the last 5:30 to punctuate the emphatic victory.
The Firestorm - which scored 35 points off turnovers - dominated William Woods in every statistical category. Arizona Christian easily outrebounded the Owls by a 50-20 margin and outscored them 45-12 off the bench, 48-14 in the paint and 23-6 on second-chance points.
Junior forward Andrew Nett was 4-of-6 from 3-point range in logging a game-high 14 points as the only William Woods player to reach double figures. Senior forward Makenzie Fessler and sophomore guard Tyriel Nelson were next with nine points apiece.
Sophomore forward Jared Crutcher led the Owls with six rebounds.
Bowers finished with 11 points to guide four players in double figures for the Firestorm, which shot 51% (33-of-65) from the field. Robby Wilson, Darius Goudeau and Bryce Davis added 10 points apiece.
William Woods faces another tough test when it hosts No. 17 Talladega (Ala.) College at 2 p.m. Monday.
Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or on Twitter @FultonSunSports.