ELSAH, Ill. - The W men' basketball kept its lock on third place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) standings, thanks to its, 77-61, road win at Principia College. The Owls (12-10, 8-5 SLIAC) kept alive their hopes of hosting a first-round SLIAC post-season game (as one of the league's top-four teams) with the victory over the Panthers (4-19, 2-12 SLIAC) at the Hay Field House.
After an opening half that saw things closer than might have been anticipated – MUW led by a 37-30 score at the break – it was a strong run the first seven-plus minutes of the second stanza that created separation by the Owls. The W blitzed the Panthers by a 24-4 count over the first 7:12 minutes after the intermission, capped by a trey from
Tray Huguley that made it 61-34 and gave the visitors their biggest lead of the day (27 points).
Huguley was huge in that surge, scoring 16 of his teams points in the run. He tallied 21 of his game-leading 30 points in the second half, alone, to demonstrate why he is one of the SLIAC's premier players. He hit 11-of-15 from the field, overall, connecting on 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 free throw tries.
Huguley also paced the game in rebounds by hauling in 13 caroms (12 on the defensive end). That gave Huguley his on-going MUW season-record 14th double-double of the campaign, as well as extending his string of double-digit scoring to 20-consecutive contests. He added two blocked shots, two steals, and passed off for three assists for an all-around solid performance versus PC.
Fellow sophomore
Joe Haze Austin added 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Like Huguley and Austin, senior
Trent Walker also did a little bit of everything in the win with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Tyler Bohanan booked eight points.
Jackson Reid had a game-high four assists, to go along with six rebounds.
The W will stay on the road for a Monday evening (Feb. 16/7:30 p.m.) game at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. The bout is a makeup of the weather-postponed game of January 24.
