The William Woods University Owls built a 19-point halftime lead and broke into the win column for the first time this season with an 89-72 AMC romp over Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday at Anderson Arena.
William Woods University was in front 35-30 when it closed the first half with a 17-3 run over the last 5 minutes, 14 seconds. Sophomore guard Tyriel Nelson's basket in the paint with :26 remaining sent the Owls into the break with a commanding 52-33 advantage.
William Woods led by as many as 22 points in the second half, improving to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the American Midwest Conference.
Nelson came off the bench to make 8-of-12 shots in directing the Owls with 17 points. Freshman guard Spencer Yoggerst was 7-of-10 from the field and junior forward Andrew Nett knocked down 5-of-10 attempts from 3-point range to provide 15 points apiece.
William Woods shot 60% (35-of-58) as a team, including 46% (10-of-22) from behind the arc, but had to overcome 20 turnovers.
Sophomore forward Jared Crutcher pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to power the Owls to a 37-26 advantage on the boards.
Jamarr Joseph delivered a game-high 20 points to pace three players in double figures for Harris-Stowe (1-3, 0-1), which shot just 40% (25-of-62) from the field. Nick McKenzie followed with 16 points and Nigel Hightower had 11.
William Woods goes on the road for the first time this season with a trip to St. Louis for an AMC contest against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.