MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The W men's basketball had its win streak come to an end at four games, in an 84-71 loss to Texas Lutheran University in the first round of the Rhodes Invitational at Mallory Gym. The Owls' (5-5) loss to the Bulldogs (4-3) will put the team in Sunday's third place game versus North Central College at 1 p.m.
In what was the first-ever meeting versus TLU, the Owls found themselves down by 12 points at the half, 42-30. The W trailed by as many as 15 points, 49-34, with 17:55 left to play before mounting a furious comeback bid.
A 9-0 run by the Owls in just over two minutes, culminated by a
Tray Huguley layup, got it to a four-point game, 49-45. With 6:38 left on the clock, MUW's
Mal Stansfield canned a pair of free throws that got his team even, 63-63.
Undeterred, the Bulldogs immediately answered with back-to-back three-point baskets to again take the upper hand, and did not look back the rest of the way. The Owls could not get closer than three points in the waning minutes.
The loss overshadowed several impressive performances by The W players, not the least of which game from sophomore transfer
Tray Huguley. Huguley, who set The W's single game scoring record (51 points) two weeks ago versus Greenville, added the game rebounds record, as well, on Saturday against TLU.
Huguley played like a man with an NIL deal from Windex, cleaning the glass to the tune of 20 rebounds (14 on the defensive end, alone). That surpassed the previous mark of 17 rebounds (set by D.J. Clark on January 10, 2019 versus CU-Sommerset).
Huguley also led the Owls in scoring with 17 points, on an 8-for-16 shooting game, to register his fifth-consecutive double-double game and ninth-straight with double figures in points.
Senior
Trent Walker had his best scoring effort of the season with 16 points. Walker hit 5-of-12 from the floor and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, raising his team-leading free throw average to a lusty 93.3 percent (28-30) for the year, while also pulling down six rebounds.
Devin McCaine and
Tyler Shephard rounded out The W quartet of double-figure scorers, by booking 15 and 14 points, respectively. Shephard led MUW with four assists and two steals.
Sunday's bout versus North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) will be the first-ever meeting between the Owls and the Cardinals. Likewise, it will be the program's first game against any school from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), one of the oldest and strongest leagues in NCAA Division III and a big test for The W's eighth-year program.
