Toughness Shows as Statesmen Rally for Overtime Win
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team stayed together and pulled off a come-from-behind 89-82 overtime victory over Peru State in a Heart of America Athletic Conference battle Wednesday.
#13 William Penn (14-2, 10-0 Heart), which has now won 10 games in a row, got outshot 35.6% to 34.2%, but the key difference came from the free throw line. The Statesmen went 32-43 (74.4%), while Peru State (11-5, 6-4 Heart) made 18-26 (69.2%). The bench came alive for visitors as well, scoring 47 of their 89 points.
Rebounding is one of the key things that WPU continues to dominate, recording 64 in Wednesday’s contest (20 offensive); the Bobcats had 48 rebounds. Eddie Daley (Grad., DeWitt, Mich., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) showed his dominance on the glass, racking up 16 of those boards, while Muneer Newton (So., Philadelphia, Pa., Business Management) continued his streak of double-doubles with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The first half went the way of the Bobcats as they led by double digits for most of it until a Malik Edwards (So., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) three-pointer cut the deficit down to seven going into halftime at 41-34.
William Penn came out in the second half with a renewed fire, going on an 18-0 run in the heart of it to take a 57-45 lead with just under 11 minutes to go. Unfortunately, Peru State would make a run of its own, pulling to within just one point later in the half. A back and forth would ensue down the stretch with a trifecta by Peru with six seconds left tying the game at 76-76 and sending it to overtime.
The Bobcats knocked down a three-pointer to open the extra session, but the Statesmen answered with seven straight. PSC broke the streak with another trifecta to get within one at 83-82, but William Penn closed it out by making six free throws in the final minute.
Following Edwards and Newton, Edwards scored 11 points and had six rebounds, while Chanze Cruesoe (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management) had eight points and five rebounds.
Back after sitting out a couple of games due to injury, James Pennington (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) poured in 24 points, including going 12-13 from the line. Rodrigo Soares (So., Dallas, Texas, Sports Management), also in his first game back off injury, had nine points, while DJ Purnell (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) provided some relief down low with seven points and six rebounds.
“This was a very tough game against a really good team in a wild environment,” said Head Coach John Henry. “On behalf of the team, I would like to thank the Peru State student section for motivating us to get the win.”
Next Up: The Statesmen will be back at home Saturday, taking on Evangel in Heart action at 2 p.m.
