COLUMBUS, Miss. -  The W men's basketball won for the third time in its last four outings, dominating Principia College, 66-56, in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) game at Pohl Gym. The Owls improved to 5-7 overall (2-3 SLIAC), while the Panthers dropped to 4-8 on the year (1-4 SLIAC).
 
For MUW Head Coach Dean Burrows, playing in front of the home crowd after the extended holiday break, was a blessing, as well.
 
"It was good to be back home after a few weeks," Burrows said. "It's always good to take care of business at your place in conference play. I felt that our guys did a good job for 30 or so minutes today; not a full 40 though. We were too lax down the stretch and, as we talked about afterwards, it'll always be about us and our playing to a standard. No doubt we got better today, all things considered."
 
 
MUW never trailed in the game and took the lead for good at 13:16 of the first half on a short jumper from Dariun Doss (9 points). By halftime, the Owls had elongated their cushion to 16 points, 33-17. Five minutes into the second half action, The W had its largest lead of the afternoon – 21 points (42-21) – on a James Dukes rebound-and-put-back basket.
 
 
The W still held a comfortable 19-point margin with 11:20 left to play, when the aforementioned "lax" play began to show. Down 47-28, Principia would shave nine points off of the Owls lead and outscored the hosts, 39-32, for the final 20 minutes.
 
Sophomore James Dukes and senior Chris Evans shared their team's scoring leader accolades with 17 points, apiece, but got there in very different ways. Dukes did a little it of everything. He connected on 7-of-13 shots (mostly in the paint), pulled down nine rebounds, dished off a game-leading six assists, and blocked three Panthers' shots.
 
Evans, on the other hand, showed why he is one of the SLIAC's leading shooters from beyond the arc, connecting on 5-of-11 from long distance, 6-of-12, overall, from the field.
 
Doss also made three steals and pulled down four boards. Cam Smith cleaned the glass for a game-leading 10 rebounds.
 
The W will look to extend its hot streak on Saturday (Jan. 11/3 p.m.) at home versus Fontbonne University.