Statesmen Onto Semis After Win Over Evangel
Oskaloosa—With the regular season Heart of America Athletic Conference crown already in the bag, the Statesmen now turn their attention to the clean sweep of the Heart as they took on Evangel in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament on Thursday.
A big second half and all around contributions helped William Penn (28-3) advance to the semifinals as they defeated Evangel (16-15) by the score of 90-75.
Evangel jumped out in front and scored the first five points of the ball game before William Penn used an early timeout to help regain composure in a packed Penn Gymnasium. The Statesmen proceeded to go on an 11-3 run to cease the momentum and take an 11-8 lead capped off by a Karmari Newman (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) three-ball.
Due to some physical play and Evangel posing a good matchup, WPU was unable to get into its normal run-and-gun rhythm and forced to play a lot of half court offense in the first half. The navy and gold were able to adjust and opened as large as a seven-point lead on multiple occasions including at the 5:40 mark, up 31-24. The visitors had a late run in them to end the half as they took a three-point lead momentarily with 1:19 left but a couple of buckets, including an alley-oop from Q Cager (Jr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation) to Ahmad Pender (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Wellness and Recreation) gave William Penn a 39-38 lead heading in the break.
Josh Watkins (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) had the hot-hand in the first half as he dropped 14 points, hitting four of six from long range.
The Statesmen found the offensive rhythm in the second half as they never surrendered the lead and opened up their first double-digit lead at the 15:33 mark on a pair of Kevion Blaylock (Jr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) free-throws. The Crusaders remained in touching distance of the Statesmen until a common foul followed by a double-technical foul allowed the floodgates the open as WPU nailed all six of them to extend the lead to 78-59. The 19-point spread was the largest of the night for the navy and gold as they cruised to victory.
William Penn outshot Evangel 48%-43% from the field while hitting 90% (26-29) of its free throws.
10 different Statesmen logged a bucket, including four reaching double-figures. Dexter Hood (Sr., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) led the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Watkins finished with 14 points while Nathan Gehring (Jr., Waukee, Iowa) and Blaylock finished with 13 and 12 respectively. Blaylock nearly missed a double-double as he collected nine rebounds and Gehring was also closing in as he had eight boards.
Cager provided a big push off the bench as he put up eight points and nine assists. Eddie Daley (Jr., DeWitt, Michigan, Business Management) also provided good minutes, logging six points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes of play.
“We were extremely sloppy but our depth helped us get the win,” Head Coach John Henry said, “Josh Watkins is really playing well for us off the bench at the right time of the season.”
Next Up: William Penn will play MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday in the Heart of America Athletic Conference semifinals at Penn Gymnasium.
