What was once a five-game win streak has now turned into a lengthy and frustrating slide for MUW’s men’s basketball team, which lost its fourth consecutive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Thursday to visiting Blackburn College, 59-58.
Both teams battled back and forth in the first half, but it was the Owls who managed to find some breathing room early for a 37-32 lead at halftime and grew their lead to as much as seven points in the second frame before the Beavers began to reel them back in behind some stalwart defense and a series of layups. The teams combined for three lead changes in the final 10 minutes of the game, and a jump shot by Blackburn’s Kamerin Carter put the Beavers up 59-57 with 17 seconds left. Joe Haze Austin was fouled and sent to the free-throw line with a chance to send the game to overtime but only connected on one of two shots. The loss is The W’s (10-10, 6-5) third straight by less than five points and is their first home conference defeat in their last seven appearances.
After losing the first time the two teams squared off earlier in the season, Blackburn bounced back by holding the best shooting team in NCAA Division III (52.79%) to a 38.8% mark from the floor. Devin McCaine led the Owls with15 points, and team-leading scorer Tray Huguley was limited to 13 points and 13 boards, which continued his on-going school record of 12 consecutive double-doubles. Austin chipped in 11 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Women’s basketball
Blackburn 76, MUW 74
Holding a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter with just 3:28 left to play, the Owls were looking like they were going to cruise the rest of the way to their first conference win since Jan. 10 – but then the wheels fell off.
The Owls shooting went cold and the Beavers rose to the occasion and spurred a 15-4 run to tie the game at 72-72 with 18 seconds left to play. Jakayla Smith banked in a layup with six seconds to go for what looked to be the game-winning lead, but Blackburn’s Elexus Frey took the ball and sunk a 3-pointer with just one second left to put the Beavers ahead for good.
MUW (4-15, 3-8) led 13-8 after the first quarter, trailed 34-29 at halftime and led 53-52 heading into the fourth.
Conley Langford led all scorers with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Smith and Mia both scored 19 points each. Bowen hauled in 16 boards with two assists and five blocks, while Smith notched five rebounds and three steals.
Both of The W’s squads are back on the court today against visiting Eureka College. The women’s game tips off at 1 p.m. while the men play at 3 p.m.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
