LaGRANGE, Ga. -  The Dean Burrows coaching era with men's basketball at the Mississippi University for Women officially got underway Friday evening, but did so with a 75-56 loss to host LaGrange College in the Wingate by Wyndham Classic. The Owls are now 0-1, while the Panthers improved to 2-0 on the young 2021-22 campaign.
 
The W will play its second game of the tourney on Saturday (Nov. 12/ 2 p.m. CT) versus Huntingdon College.
 
 "I thought for our first time competing live against someone else - with everything that is new to our guys and myself - we did some things very well," Burrows reflected. "We took two charges, outrebounded them by twelve and had 18 offensive boards. We didn't get to the line enough, but still went 7-of-8; we say 75 percent-plus is the goal. We went toe-to-toe with a very good program at the NCAA Division III level, who's been to multiple tourneys in the past seven or so years."
 
While The W managed just the eight trips to the charity stripe, the Panthers took 30 free throw attempts and converted 19, giving them a plus-11 points with the clock off.
 
At times the Owls were their own worst enemy. The W committed 27 turnovers, 11 of which were unforced. LaGrange converted the Owls' mistakes into 26 points and never trailed in the game (there were three ties).
 
"No matter the level, turnovers hurt you and always we will," Burrows said. "That's something we emphasize daily. We will do better in that category as we move forward."
 
Shon Wright and Trey Jackson shared high-point honors for the Owls with 12 apiece. Wright was 5-of-15 from the field and also made three steals on the defensive side.
 
Jackson hit 5-of-14, including a pair of three-balls. Jackson also pulled down six rebounds.
 
JaQuan Hines topped all Owl rebounders with seven caroms corralled. Hines' all-around effort included going 3-for-4 from the field – good for six points - and blocking four shots.
 
Dariun Doss shared high rebound status with Hines, also grabbing seven boards. Starkville native Cam Skinner hauled in six rebounds, as well. In all, The W out-boarded the Panthers, 49-37.
 
Other scoring for the Owls came from Ddallen Bailey with seven points, five from Milos Zaradjanin and four each from Skinner and Terry Coleman Jr. Doss, Davon Kennick and Nathan Reed each booked two points to round out The W scoring.
 
Burrows knows his Owls are oh-so-close to having something special. "When we did what we do daily we were good tonight," he explained. "When we tried to do our own thing, we were exposed and they capitalized on that."