MONTGOMERY, Ala. -  The W men's basketball team battled back from a sluggish first half, but dropped an overtime thriller in its season opener at Huntingdon College, 82-77. The Owls are now 0-1 and the Hawks are 1-1 on the young 2026-27 campaign.

HC built a double-digit lead midway through the opening half. MUW found itself down by 12 points – 44-32 – at the halftime break.

The second stanza, however, belonged to the visiting Owls, who opened the period by scoring the first six points to reduce the deficit to single digits. The W kept hammering the hosts, staying within 3 to 6 points for the bulk of the period.

The W's big surge came with 2:50 remaining in regulation, down 69-63. MUW's BJ Cooks buried back-to-back three-point buckets to knot the game at 69-69 with 1:50 left.

After a Hawks' turnover, Tyler Shephard drove to the hoop and was fouled. The senior calmly converted both charity tosses to give The W a 71-69 lead with 47 seconds remaining.

Huntingdon made a layup with 27 seconds, tying it at 71-71. The Owls had two missed shot attempts as regulation expired, and the teams went to the extra five-minute segment.

The Hawks hit a trey just 12 seconds into the OT segment and would never trail again. MUW could get no closer than a single point on three different occasions in overtime. 

Shephard and Cooks each finished with 19 points, sharing high-game honors. Joe Haze Austin also had double-digit point totals, adding 11 to the Owls' coffers.

The W will be in action next Tuesday (Nov. 17/7:30 pm.) versus Southeastern Baptist College, in its home opener at Pohl Gym.