BATESVILLE, Ark. – The W men's basketball matched St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) pre-season No. 2-ranked Lyon College for the first half, before being outplayed in the second stanza of an 82-59 road loss. The matchup was the SLIAC opener for both squads, as the Owls fell to 1-4 (0-1 SLIAC) and the Scots improved to 4-3 (1-0 SLIAC) in 2025-26.
MUW opened the game with an aggressive attack, so much so that the visitors were either ahead or tied the bulk of the opening period (trailing for just 34 seconds). The opening half had six ties and five lead changes in all, with the clubs going to the locker room knotted at 34-34.
After some early back-and-forth to open the second half,
Trent Walker's short jumper gave The W a 40-39 lead with 17:02 left to play. Unfortunately for the Owls, it would be their last view from ahead, as the Scots went on a 15-4 run over the next 5:38 minutes to forge ahead, 54-44, and leave the Owls behind.
Walker would share team scoring honors with
Tray Huguley, with each man finishing at 12 points and five rebounds. Walker hit 4-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 free throws. He also had two assists and two steals to his credit.
Huguley went 6-for-9 shooting from the floor before fouling out in the waning minutes.
Devin McClaine connected on 5-for-7 from the field, on his way to 11 points.
Jackson Reid and
Joe Haze Austin each booked 10 points. Reid dished three assists and Austin made four steals, both team leaders in those categories.
The W and Lyon teams both shot 48 percent from the floor and most of the other statistical lines were fairly even.
However, the glaring disparity was as clear as, well, glass. The backboard kind of glass, to be exact. The Scots outrebounded the Owls by a 45-to-22 margin, overall, and by a 19-to-4 count on the offensive end. That resulted in the host LC team holding a commanding 21-5 cushion in second-chance points for the game.
The W men will next be in action on Saturday (Nov. 29/3 p.m.) in a non-conference tilt versus Belhaven University at Pohl Gym.
