Lyon Men’s Basketball Can’t hold off Owls on Road, 73-61

Courtesy Lyon College Athletics Department

FULTON, Mo. – Despite leading William Woods University by four at the half and finishing Saturday night’s American Midwest Conference road matchup in Anderson Arena with only six turnovers, the Lyon College men’s basketball team still couldn’t gain its first league win as only one Scot scored in double-figures in a 73-61 setback to the Owls.

The loss was Lyon’s fifth straight and kept the Scots winless (0-7) on the road this season. Lyon dropped to 3-12 on the year, 0-4 in AMC action, while William Woods (8-9, 4-0 AMC) took a one-half game lead over idle and No. 2-ranked Columbia College (17-0, 3-0 AMC).

The Scots and Owls each gained leads four times in the first half of Saturday’s matchup, with Lyon moving out in front by as much as nine points before settling for a 31-27 advantage at the break. LC gained its advantage by shutting down WWU and holding the Owls to only 27.5% (11-of-40) shooting from the field, while committing just four turnovers on the offensive end in the first 20 minutes.

Lyon College took its biggest lead of the half, 25-16, after going on a 15-5 run over a span of 7:44 midway through the period. The Scots shot 50% (12-of-24) during the half, including 5-of-12 (41.7%) from behind the three-point arc.

But the Scots cooled in the second half, hitting only 10-of-37 (27.0%) in the final 20 minutes. Despite only turning the ball over twice, Lyon saw its lead slowly dwindle, until William Woods moved in front, 37-36, at the 15:52 mark.

The teams went back and forth for the next five minutes as the score was tied four times and neither team was able to gain an advantage of more than two points. The Owls then went on an 11-1 run over a span of 5:03 to widen their lead to 58-46 with 5:27 left on the clock.

The Scots were never able to close the gap under 10 points the rest of the way.

Humose led the Lyon attack with 19 points, converting 4-of-8 from behind the three-point arc. He also pulled down six rebounds and handed out an assist. Slater Belew chipped in eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, Devonte Young scored seven points and grabbed three boards. Stephon Martinez, Kendall Leeks (5 rebounds) and Daniel Ritchie each scored five points, while Ben Worlow scored four, Jordan McAllister and Jordan Layrock dropped in three each and Rickey Thomas scored two points.

Four William Woods players reached double-figure scoring, with Jonathon Nutt and Daniel Armah each picked up double-doubles. Armah scored 21 points and pulled in 16 rebounds, with Nutt dropping in 15 points and hauling in 10 boards. D.J. Hoskins added 11 points and seven boards, while Logan Decker managed 10 points.

Lyon College connected on 36.1% (22-of-61) from the field for the game, with 8-of-24 (33.3%) of its three-point field goals going in the basket. The Scots connected on 9-of-15 (60%) from the charity stripe. The Owls won despite converting only 33.8% (23-of-68) from the field, 15% (3-of-20) from the three-point territory and 77.4% (24-of-31) from the free throw line.

In other conference games on Saturday, Williams Baptist (11-5, 2-1 AMC) stayed 1.5-games off the WWU pace with an 83-75 victory over Park (8-7, 2-2 AMC), Missouri Baptist (7-9, 2-1 AMC) also stayed 1.5 game off the leader with a 69-55 triumph over Benedictine University at Springfield (Ill.) (4-12, 1-3 AMC) and Harris-Stowe State University (3-14, 2-2 AMC) edged Hannibal-LaGrange (3-12, 0-3 AMC), 80-70.

The Scots will be on the road again Tuesday night, visiting Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. The game, which tips off at 7:30 p.m., will be part of a women/men doubleheader. The 19th-ranked Lyon women, get underway at 5:30 p.m. Lyon will then host Benedictine University at Springfield on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Columbia College on Saturday at 4 p.m.