Statesmen Down Evangel, Daley Hits Milestone
Oskaloosa — Having swept Evangel last year, William Penn men’s basketball faced them for the first and only time in the regular season Saturday afternoon. Senior day started with the long list of veterans getting recognized during halftime of the women’s game before the Statesmen tipped off as the second part of the double-header. Defense was the watchword for the squad, as they limited the Crusaders to 33% shooting for the game. Pulling away in the second half, WPU took the win 103-68, improving their record to 16-1 overall, 14-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The game started slowly, with Evangel getting the first bucket of the night. Ahmad Pender (Sr., Chicago, Ill, Wellness & Recreation) answered immediately at the other end as Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness & Recreation) picked out his run with a well-timed pass. Cager got fouled the next time down the court, sinking one free-throw to give the Statesmen the lead. Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) knocked down a three to make it a four-point advantage but Evangel would not go away.
They closed the gap a couple of times during the first five minutes, but neither team looked steady offensively, with a lot of clunks off the rim. Eddie Daley (Sr., DeWitt, Mich., Business Management) made a block at one end and put back his own rebound at the other end to take the Statesmen to a six-point lead. Despite going up 16-6 with five minutes played, the Crusaders then rattled off five-straight to make the score 16-11.
The next few minutes saw each side exchange scores, and at the media timeout midway through the first, the navy and gold led 26-20. Out of the quick recess, the Statesmen began to make their move. Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) sunk a little jumper that sparked a 10-4 run that put the home side up 36-24 with 6:15 to go in the first half. Field goals from Pender and Cager flexed the lead out to 18 before coming back down as the first half came to a close. The Crusaders had a chance to cut the lead to single digits with .3 on the clock, but Pender and Blaylock blocked the pass that was zipped towards the paint, sending the teams to the halftime break with the Statesmen leading 47-36.
WPU shot 61% from the floor and despite leading the rebound category 24-19, Evangel led the offensive rebound tally 11-6. Daley and Newman each had eight points to lead the team while Daley had five rebounds to pace the squad.
While the Crusaders had done enough to hang around in the first half, they could not find a similar level in the second frame. Pender slammed one home to start the second, soon followed by a Newman three-point bomb to take the lead up to 18. Cager put the navy and gold up 21 on a put-back, as the smallest man on the court beat out the big-bodies for the offensive rebound.
The rest of the lineup soon began to add to the point total, showcasing how many good players William Penn can field. Chanze Cruesoe (So., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) made a couple great drives during the second half, coming away with three assists on the night as well. Brandon Faison (Sr., Charlotte, N.C., Sports Management) made a couple of assists during the middle part of the second half, also putting in a couple tough shots.
Nathan Gehring (Sr., Waukee, Iowa), put up eight points in the second half, while Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) notched six. Ty Majlik-Autry (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.) found his way to six points, one his best totals in a number of games.
Up by 31 with 7:29 to go, the Statesmen did not let Evangel get closer than 20 points the rest of the way. This set the stage for a couple big moments from the remaining seniors over the final couple of minutes.
Quinshaun Freeman (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Software Engineering) owned the final 1:50, creating three turnovers in a row. The first he took to the lane and laid in himself. After that, he picked the Crusader’s pocket again, this time running the floor and laying it off to Derrick Holman (Sr., Napeville, Ill.), who scored. On the third, Freeman swiped the inbounds pass and finished while driving the baseline, concluding a 46-second passage of play where the senior was a one-man wrecking ball. The final act saw Holman take a three and miss, but the rebound came to Freeman. He then made the extra pass to Thomas Stanley (Fr., Henderson, Nev.), who drained the open three-point basket. Penn Gymnasium exploded like he had won the game, as the trio provided some late heroics in a dominating win.
With the final buzzer, the Statesmen secured a 103-68 victory. The team shot 58% from the floor, made 33% of their deep shots, and ended up wining the rebound count 48-34. They held Evangel to 33% from the floor and 7-24 from beyond the arc, limiting their top player to only seven points.
Everyone who played ended up with points in the game for the navy and gold, with six players scoring 10 or more. Newman paced the lineup with 14 while Watkins was right behind with 13. Faison, Blaylock, Daley, and Gehring each reached 10 points while Pender and Cager finished with eight. Daley and Blaylock each collected seven rebounds to top the lineup, while Cager had seven assists to lead the side for the game.
With the win, Daley collected his 98th win in a William Penn jersey, becoming the all-time leader for wins as a player for the navy and gold.
“It was a great game and a great day for our seniors,” said Head Coach John Henry. “How many teams can score 103 points and the leading scorer has only 13 or 14 points?”
Next Up: With the game rescheduled, the team will take on Clarke this coming Monday, February 1, at 6:00 p.m.
