If an explosion of offense actually generated damage in the real world, all that would remain of the Mississippi University for Women would be a smoking crater in downtown Columbus.
The W’s men’s basketball team detonated in a fiery fury of flames Saturday and set a slew of school records in a high-octane 142-109 St. Louis Intercollege Athletic Conference victory over visiting Greenville – and at the epicenter of it all was Tray Huguley.
The sophomore transfer forward from Shelton State Community College set a new program single-game scoring record by pouring in 51 points, 11 rebounds four assists and three steals – obliterating the previous record of 35 points set back in 2019 by Keith Harris – on a blisteringly efficient night of 21-29 shooting from the floor (72%) with no 3-pointers attempted and a 9-of-10 mark from the free-throw line. Both his shots made and shots attempted are new school records.
He helped spur the Owls (4-4, 2-1) to outscore the Panthers 73-59 in the first half and 69-50 in the second, which set the program record for the most points scored in a game, in an effort that landed him the SLIAC Player of the Week honor.
“We have a ton of respect for (Greenville) Coach Barber, his staff, and their kids and how hard they play,”said head coach Dean Burrows, who was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Week by HoopDirt.com. “It’s an unusual style as we were all well aware of, but games in our non-conference slate against the likes of Howard Payne and Belhaven gave us somewhat of an understanding of what today was going to be like. I’m really proud of our toughness, connectivity, unselfishness and discipline as we discussed the past few days heading in.”
Three other Owls got in on the double-digit scoring action, and Tyler Shephard cashed in 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for his highest output of the season so far. Joe Haze Austin joined Huguley in the record-setting high with one of his own – the program’s first-ever triple-double. Austin scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists and also added five blocks and seven steals to his totals. Devin McCaine scored 16 points and seven assists to round out the team’s top scorers.
Among the other records set were new program marks for assists (41) field-goals made (57) and blocked shots (10). The teams combined for 183 shot attempts, 92 rebounds and the Owls scored 139 points from within the arch. Tyler Bohannon shot and made the team’s only 3-pointer on the night.
After the third win in a row, the Owls will enjoy a break before getting back on the court Dec. 18 at Hendrix College for their contest.
Greenville 81, MUW women 70
The W’s women’s squad fell just short of their second win of the season in an 81-70 loss to Greenville in overtime.
After trailing for the first three quarters the Panthers managed to claw back into the contest and force overtime with a layup by Maya Mann at the buzzer. In the extra period, The W’s offense couldn’t find any rhythm on 1-of-9 shooting and was outscored 15-4 the rest of the way to fall to 1-8 overall and 0-3 in conference games. Conley Langford and Mia Bowen each dropped 16 points to lead the team in scoring. Langford also added 10 rebounds and four steals for a double-double, and Bowen grabbed seven boards and blocked five shots. Calysia Phillips scored 12 points and six rebounds for the Owls in her first appearance since an injury last season, and Jakayla Smith chipped in 11 points. Greenville was led by Trinity Wade’s 23 points and the Panthers as a team outrebounded the Owls 62-48.
Looking to snap a three-game skid, the W is back in action at 6 p.m. Thursday hosting Belhaven University.
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