COLUMBUS, Miss. – Don't look now, but The W men's basketball is on a roll after its 78-75 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) win over Lyon College at Pohl Gym. The Owls' (6-6, 3-1 SLIAC) win over the Scots (8-5, 3-1 SLIAC) was the team's third-straight league win and propelled them into a share of second place in the standings.
 
MUW has also won five of its last seven contests, as it got calendar year 2026 off on the right foot. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak versus the Scots, dating back to 2020, and just the second "W" for the Owls in the series, since winning the inaugural meeting in December of 2019.
 
"We were fortunate to pull one out at home this afternoon which has been beyond kind to us in 2025 and now as we've entered 2026," Owls Head Coach Dean Burrows said, after improving to 5-0 in Pohl Gym this season. (The game) was sloppy for the most part, but at times you saw what I believe are two good teams trade punches in the arena. We focused on doing a better job holding them to ten second-chance points, versus 21 at their place in November. To find a way to stay together and find a way to pull one out against a very good and well coached club - who play so stinking hard and are tough – was a positive thing."
 
Junior Tyler Shephard led The W with a game-high 24-point effort. Shephard was a deft 10-for-14 shooting from the floor, including one trey, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. He had three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals to his credit, as well.
 
Sophomore sensation Tray Huguley had his sixth double-double game, in 10 played, by scoring 20 points and grabbing a game-leading 11 rebounds. Huguley was 6-for-15 from the field, while also making four steals and blocking two shots, in hitting double-figure scoring for the tenth time in as many games.
 
Joe Haze Austin topped all comers with five assists, to go long with his 15 points. Austin connected on 4-of-7 shots from the floor and was 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. He matched Huguley with four steals and two blocks, as well.
 
As might be expected from two teams in the upper echelon of the SLIAC standings, neither team led by more than single digits at any time and there were 11 ties and 15 lead changes. In the dizzying final five minutes of play alone, there were nine lead swaps and five tie scores.
 
Down by a single point with 30 seconds left on the clock, MUW's Huguley canned a pair of free throws to give his team the lead for good, 76-75. After Lyon missed a layup with nine seconds remaining, the Scots had to foul and Shephard calmly sank both tosses for the 78-75 final score.
 
  
The W will look to extend its winning was on Thursday, January 8 (7:30 p.m.) with a SLIAC contest at Eureka College.