PENSACOLA, Fla. - Senior guard Dariun Doss (Reform, Ala.) had a career high in both points and rebounds to pace Mississippi University for Women to an 82-72 men's basketball victory over Trinity College of Florida, in a neutral-site game played at Pensacola Christian College. The Owls (1-1) notched their first-ever victory as an NCAA Division III program by dispatching the Tigers (0-2).
 
Doss led a trio of double-digit scorers for The W, including two double-double games. Doss poured in 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds – both game-leading numbers - in 20 minutes off the bench for Head Coach Dean Burrows' crew. Doss was an efficient 7-of-15 from the floor. He also topped MUW's defensive efforts with four steals and dished off a pair of assists, as well.
 
Fellow senior teammate Brye Hopkins (Valencia, Spain) also registered a double-double day, with 16 points and matched Doss' 14 rebounds. Freshman Adin Johnson (Ecru, Miss.) had the best game of his young Owls' career with 12 points, buoyed by a 4-for-6 shooting day from beyond the arc.
 
Another freshman – Cam Smith (Falkner, Miss.) just missed giving MUW its third double-double man by corralling 11 rebounds and tallying nine points, despite foul trouble. Sophomore newcomer Tarik Islamovic (Tuzia, Bosnia & Herzegovina) drew three of a kind, with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and a game-leading 8 assists.
 
After a topsy-turvy first half featuring five ties and 10 lead changes, it was Trinity that carried a 44-41 advantage into the halftime locker room. But the Owls came out on fire in the second stanza, outscoring the Tigers, 41-23, in the final half.
 
A jumper by Islamovic with 13:27 left broke a 52-52 deadlock and propelled The W on a 22-6 run over the next six minutes – marking The W's largest lead of the game at 16 points (74-58) - that salted away the win.
 
The Owls will face Johnson University (Fla.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Pensacola to cap the two-game trip.