NAIA- The sixth edition of the NAIA men’s basketball coaches Top 25 poll and Mt. Pleasant’s brand of winning certainly knows how to travel as a trio of former Panthers and a duo of Tigers find themselves climbing the poll for another week.
William Woods University patrolled by former Iowa Wesleyan head coach Jordan Ashton has led his team into the top 10 rankings for the first time this season, jumping up five spots from last week’s rankings to #9.
After losing back-to-back games in mid-November to a now-ranked #6 Dordt and a then-ranked #11 Central Baptist College by a combined eight points, the Owls have rattled off 17 consecutive victories.
To illustrate the domination during this 17-game winning streak, the Owls have collected 12 wins by double digits and scored over 90 points in seven of the wins, including three instances of scoring 100 points on their opponent.
Their biggest contest during this streak was a rematch against then-ranked #17 Central Baptist College—now ranked 18th—in front of the Owl faithful. Down at the half, the Owls dropped 47 second-half points to exit with a top 25 victory, 79-74, as D’Mari Wiltz put up 21 points for William Woods.
Recently getting heralded was a pair of former Iowa Wesleyan Tigers, Francis Okwuosah and Henry Shannon III. Okwuosah was named AMC Offensive Player of the Week 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game last week, which included an 87-80 win over Columbia College, William Woods’ first at Columbia in seven years.
Shannon earned AMC Defensive Player of the Week as he tabbed three blocks, three steals, and ripped down 17 boards in their three wins last week. His best performance included a 14 point and two block performance to officially sweep Columbia for the first time in seven years.
Also seeing time on the court is former Panther Aaiden Ashton as he is averaging 5 points per game in his 19 game appearances as a sophomore. Payton Hagans, also a Mt. Pleasant native, is a freshman on the team.
The Owls have three more games before jumping into the AMC Tournament on February 27th.