GREENVILLE, Ill. -  The W slowed down St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) offensive leader Greenville University for a half, before finally being overtaken, 101-95. The Owls fell to 8-8 (5-4 SLIAC) in seeing their four-game win streak ended, while the Panthers – averaging better than 113 points per game – improved to 9-7 (7-2 SLIAC).
 
The Owls rode the backs of James Dukes and Trent Walker in the first half, which ended in a 45-45 tie. Dukes poured in 20 points by dominating the paint, also pulling down eight rebounds. For his part, Walker added nine points and seven boards in the opening segment.
 
The W had to wonder what might have been left on the table in the first half, as well. The Owls out-rebounded the Panthers, 38-19. However, 21 MUW turnovers and an 11-for-20 free throw tally kept GU in the game.
 
To open the second half, the Panthers pounced on The W by scoring the first seven points, forcing MUW to play catch-up. And the Owls did finally knot the game at 57-57 with 13:09 to play on a Walker layup. From that juncture, the Owls either led or were tied for the next five minutes. But with the score tied at 71-71, another 7-0 spurt by Greenville gave them the lead they would not relinquish.
 
Dukes finished with a huge game of 31 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and a block. He finished 12-of-17 from the field and was 7-of-10 from the free throw stripe to lead a quintet of double-digit scorers for MUW.
 
Fifth-year senior Dariun Doss added 14 points and Walker finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tyson Smithey and Bass Jr. both contributed 10 points apiece off of the Owls' bench.
 
Jackson Reid and Chris Evans both dished off five assists. Reid also snared seven boards, as well.
 
The Owls finished the night with a 61-to-40 rebounding advantage, the second-most boards in a single game in program history. The flip side, however, was that the Panthers' defense forced MUW into a school record 39 turnovers (eclipsing the previous mark of 37 set versus Greenville during the 2023-24 season), which GU converted into 32 of it points.
 
The W scored 70 points in the paint, compared to 44 by the Panthers. There were 10 ties and four lead changes.
 
The W will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to face Spalding University on Saturday (Jan. 25/2 p.m. CT).