ST. LOUIS – The first ten minutes of the contest set the tone of the game, as William Woods defeated the Missouri Baptist men's basketball team, 77-66 on Saturday. The Spartans trailed 21-6 just ten minutes into the game, which ended up being the difference in the contest.
The Spartans (2-11, 2-2) shot 37 percent on 23-of-61 from the field, and made 5-of-21 shots from beyond the arc. MBU was able to make 15-of-21 shots from the charity stripe. The Owls (5-11, 3-3) shot 52 percent from the field, making 25-of-48 shots. WWU made 7-of-20 three-point shots and sank 20-of-33 free throw attempts.
Kalvin Lewis scorched the Owls for a career-high 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. He also made 3-of-7 three-point shots, made all six free throws and pulled down four rebounds. Corey McKinney scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, made 1-of-3 shots from deep range and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Chris Buzzell scored ten points, but made just 3-of-10 shots from the field.
The game started off on the right foot for the Spartans, as Kalvin Lewis drained a three-pointer just a minute and two seconds into the game.
Chris Buzzell gave MBU a 4-3 lead with 16:31 left in the first half, but William Woods would go on an 18-0 run over the next 6:30 and take a 21-4 lead. La'Ren Jones drained a mid-range bucket to end the scoreless streak with 10:03 left in the half, but the Spartans again were held scoreless again for the next 3:20.
William Woods led 30-10 with 6:15 left in the half, but MBU went on a 8-0 run over the next 1:20, capped off by a Corey McKinney three-pointer.
The Spartans trailed 30-18 with 4:14 left in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Owls outscored the Spartans 11-5 the remainder of the half and held a 41-23 lead at the break.
Lewis led the Spartans with 14 points at the half on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Jones had six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
The Spartans came out on a mission to make a comeback in the second half, outscoring the Owls 16-8 over the first 10 minutes. Chris Buzzell scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 47-35 with 14:31 left in the game. Logan Quinn scored his first points of the game with 10:12 left in the game and the Spartans trailed 49-39, forcing William Woods to take a timeout.
William Woods scored the next six points and led 55-39 with 8:33 left in the game. Kalvin Lewis cut the deficit to 14 points with a mid-range jumper with 8:27 left in the contest.
The Owls were able to increase their lead to 20 points with 4:55 left in the game and the score 65-45.
Missouri Baptist inched back into the game, thanks to a four-point play by Kalvin Lewis with 2:19 left in the game. Lewis drained a three and made the free throw, cutting the deficit to 70-57.
Corey McKinney cut the deficit to just 11 points with 1:58 left in the game after slashing hard into the paint.
Chris Buzzell drained a deep three pointer to cut the deficit to 74-64 with 1:06 left in the game, but William Woods was able to make the needed free throws and preserved a 77-66 victory.
Missouri Baptist will travel to Williams Baptist on Tuesday. The Spartans will host Lyon College next Thursday at 7:30 pm.
