Just like the last time The W’s men’s basketball team squared off with the Greenville University Panthers, both squads tallied remarkable offensive and defensive numbers in a high-scoring affair. But this time it was the Owls who fell just short in a 141-137 overtime loss on Thursday.
The W’s 137 points are the second-most in program history, just short of its 142 points scored during its win over Greenville in December, and on Thursday both squads put up stunning numbers once again.
They combined for 278 points, 106 made field goals, 195 attempted field goals, 53 attempts from beyond the arc, 48 free throws on 62 attempts, 95 rebounds, 65 assists, 12 blocked shots and 16 steals. There were 160 points scored in the paint (102 by MUW) and 96 total fast-break points. There were 15 ties and 16 lead changes and 11 total players – four Owls and seven Panthers – scored double-digit points with The W’s Tray Huguley topping all scorers with 43 points. Huguley tallied a program-record 51 points the last time the two teams squared off in December. This time around he made 20 of his 24 shot attempts and also led the game with 13 rebounds for his 16th straight double-double.
The back-and-forth scoring got started immediately after tipoff and both teams headed to the break tied at 61. The Owls (10-8, 6-3) managed to pull away by as many as eight points in the final 3:53 but the Panthers responded with an 18-5 run to get within one point with 46 seconds left on the clock. A foul by Joe Haze Austin with just a second left to play sent Elliott Mobley to the stripe, where he made a free throw to force overtime. The Owls were outscored 15-11 in the extra period.
Devin McCaine scored 35 points with six assists, Tyler Shephard produced 24 points and six rebounds and Austin provided 16 points, six boards, eight assists, four blocks and four steals.
“To once again do what these young men did tonight against the opponent we did, facing what we know to be the case every time we step on the floor, speaks volumes to who these young men are,” MUW head coach Dean Burrows said. “Another gutsy performance for this group. We talked again about this coming down to layups and free throws and – while we made more than they attempted, which is always our goal – our nine missed free throws didn’t help us, nor did getting outrebounded overall. We have to stop beating ourselves and learn to move on if and when something doesn’t go our way. We won’t get to where we’ve known we can with this group until we stop beating ourselves.”
The Owls, who stand at third in the conference standings, look to end a streak of back-to-back losses today at Spalding University.
Greenville 68, MUW women 64
Missing two starters in its lineup, The W’s women’s basketball team came up short in a 68-64 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss at Greenville University on Thursday.
Despite the absence of key guards Fantasia Wilson (illness) and Calysia Phillips (weather), the Owls managed to keep the game close and only trained 35-33 at halftime, but then another injury struck halfway through the third quarter. With the Owls behind by only one point, Mia Bowen went down and missed the second half of the quarter and part of the early going in the fourth. When Bowen finally got back on the hardwood, her squad trailed 60-51, but that didn’t slow her down one bit. Over the next seven minutes, Bowen scored 10 of her team’s 13 points to reel the Panthers’ lead back to just one point with 1:59 left to play.
In the waning moments, though, neither team could find the bottom of the net with the Owls going 0-3 on shot attempts with a turnover in their final four possessions. Greenville sank one free throw as the last made bucket in the game to hand The W (4-13, 3-6) its third straight conference loss, which moved the team two games behind the sixth-place Panthers – the final conference tournament spot.
Bowen led a quartet of double-digit scorers with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and five steals, and Jakayla Smith added 17 points and six steals. Conley Langford tallied 13 points and eight boards and Rhianna Dinkins rounded out the team’s top scorers with 12 points and five rebounds.
The Owls look to get back on the winning side of things in conference play today at Spalding University.
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